Nigeria's Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram released a beheading video on Monday similar to those released by Islamic State.
The video, which employed advanced editing and graphics, showed two militants standing behind two men on their knees, according to Reuters. A man with a knife stood over the two men that were kneeling.
One of the kneeling men identified as Dawoud Muhammad is prodded into telling the camera that he and his fellow captive had been paid by authorities to spy on Boko Haram. According to Huffington Post, Muhammad said he was paid 5,000 naira ($25) to spy. Muhammad said he is from Baga in Borno state and the other man, identified as Muhammad Awlu, said he is from Michika in Adamawa state - both are regions that the army claims to have recaptured from Boko Haram. The video is titled "Harvest of Spies" and includes effects like the sound of a beating heart and heavy breathing before the final gruesome scene.
The next scene shows the captives' bodies laid out on the ground with their decapitated heads resting on top of the bodies, according to Huffington Post. The video has not been authenticated and the date of filming has not being verified.
This film is a departure from the much cruder films released by Boko Haram in the past. Usually, a man who has been identified as leader Abubakar Shekau rants about local issues and the footage of beheadings is much more graphic.
Boko Haram's use of advanced filming techniques, black-clad militants and a black flag could raise concerns that the group is expanding from a clerical movement to a more global Islamic movement. Boko Haram has already "killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds" in their quest to create an Islamic caliphate in Africa, according to Reuters. The group has crept in to Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Boko Haram is allied with al Qaeda and Islamic State, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has said, according to Reuters, but the militant group has not confirmed.
