A Boko Haram faction backed by ISIS has published a video of the execution of five people it claims are Nigerian soldiers.
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) video, dated April 1 and said to have been filmed in Borno State, was published online by the IS propaganda arm Amaq.
It showed two men in military fatigues and three in red-orange jumpsuits reminiscent of those worn by IS hostages in Syria and Iraq. All five are shot in the head at point-blank range.
Security sources, however, told AFP that three of the five executed were civilian militia members.
“We have identified three of them as CJTF (Civilian Joint Taskforce) who were held by ISWAP in Baga in December,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity.
The CJTF assists the military with security. ISWAP attacked military bases in and around Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, in northern Borno, in December last year.
The sources said the militia members were trying to flee with civilians when they were detained. All three had been presumed dead.
“The first three from the right are known to us by name… We are still working to establish the identity of the other two,” said one source.
“What is surprising is that one of them in military uniform was arrested in his civilian clothing and now he was given some military uniform to make him look like a soldier.”
