The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Tuesday, September 3, said it was responsible for the attack that led to the killing of 34 villagers in Yobe State.
In a letter written in Arabic released by the terrorists, the group said the community was attacked for allegedly providing information to the military, which led to the killing of its members.
The letter reads in part, “This is a message from the soldiers of the Caliphate in the West Africa Province to the leaders, mukhtars, and the rest of the residents and farmers in the town of Mafa and the villages around it.”
The terrorists said, “You have been tempted to remain in your countries in safety. The soldiers of the Caliphate will not harm you, nor threaten you with your money, nor hinder you from any activity of yours, whether agriculture, trade, etc. until you have arrogantly raised yourselves to a position in which you believe that your hands will reach our brothers with harm and remain uninterrupted.”
Claiming that their brothers were harmed during the attack by the military in Bangaro, ISWAP when they visited they treated the villagers well without harming them.
“Rather, we limited ourselves to those whose hands were stained with the blood of our brothers, and who were attacked by their weapons, according to the information we found. We thought that by doing so we had warned you with the language of war, hoping that you would be deterred.
“However, this increased your arrogance and arrogance, so you repeated the same crime in the month of Safar,” the letter added.