Islamic State executes Nigerian Christians

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Islamic State militants in Nigeria released a 56-second video they said shows the execution of 11 Christians on Thursday. ISIS said it captured the Christians in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State but did not release their names or the location of the killings.

What motivated the executions? In the video, the extremists said the killings were to “avenge” the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid by U.S. forces in October. New leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi said the group’s revenge would “make the achievements of the Baghdadi days taste sweet.” In the video, the militants shoot the first man and then push the next 10 to the ground and behead them.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s report in The Sift about the raid that led to Baghdadi’s death.

Samantha Gobba

Samantha is a freelancer for WORLD Digital. She is a graduate of the World Journalism Institute, holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hillsdale College, and has a multiple-subject teaching credential from California State University. Samantha resides in Chico, Calif., with her husband and their two sons.