Boko Haram duo linked to kidnapping of foreigners

Khalid al-Barnawi, labeled a "global terrorist" by the United States government Thursday, is alleged to be an Al Qaeda-linked militant with Boko Haram ties involved in kidnapping of foreigners.

The U.S State Department described Barnawi and another militant also given the terrorist designation, Abubakar Adam Kambar, as tied to Boko Haram and with "close links to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," or Al-Qaeda's north African branch.

A source close to the Boko Haram sect told AFP that Barnawi is thought to have run a militant training camp in the Algerian desert and was involved in the kidnapping of foreigners in Niger and in Nigeria.
 Those kidnappings included the abductions of French nationals in Niger and of a Briton and an Italian in Nigeria last year near the border with Niger.
The report said Abu Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the kidnap of the Briton and the Italian, trained at the camp under Barnawi. Mohammad died in custody in March after suffering gunshot wounds in a raid in Sokoto State.

 AFP gathered that Mohammad and Barnawi formed an alliance with the faction of Boko Haram led by Abubakar Shekau, also designated a "global terrorist" on Thursday, after Mohammad returned to Nigeria.
Under the alliance, Mohammad and his group were to carry out abductions for ransom, part of which would go towards financing Boko Haram operations. Boko Haram would in turn provide security cover for Mohammad's group.

Barnawi is said to have feuded with an Al-Qaeda "spiritual adviser" at the training camp, particularly over the kidnappings in Nigeria.

According to the report, Barnawi planned the kidnappings without Al-Qaeda consent.
Not much is known about Barnawi's background, though he is thought to be in his 30s and had been born in Maiduguri, Borno State.