Boko Haram, Islamic State collaborating, military leaders say

U.S. and Nigerian military officials said an increase in collaboration between the Islamic State and the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram is "cause for alarm" for a wide swath of north and central Africa.

Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc, commander of the United States military's Special Operations Command in Africa, said an IS weapons convoy from Libya, intercepted while traveling to the Lake Chad region, suggests a growing link between the two groups. Nigerian Gen. Lamidi Oyebayo Adeosun, commander of a joint African force battling Boko Haram in the Lake Chad area, echoed Bolduc's concerns, saying officials are attempting to learn more about the relationship. Last year, the Boko Haram pledged allegiance to IS, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh.

"The Lake Chad basin is ground zero" in the fight against Islamic extremists in Africa, Bolduc said. He said IS and Boko Haram are sharing "tactics, techniques and procedures" in the Lake Chad region, which includes northeast Nigeria, and parts of Niger, Chad and Cameroon.