Nigerian security officials say they have thwarted plans by Islamic State group-linked Boko Haram members to attack the embassies of the United States and Britain.
A statement Wednesday by the Department of State Services says that late last month it broke up a ring that had “perfected plans to attack” the embassies along with “other Western interests” in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
The statement says five suspects were arrested. It gives no further details.
One faction of Boko Haram is allied with the Islamic State group.
Nigeria’s president late last year declared the Boko Haram insurgency “crushed,” but its fighters continue to threaten the vast region around Lake Chad in defiance of a multinational force. It has increasingly used children, especially girls, as suicide bombers.
AP