Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and al-Qaida sharing money, explosives and training

David Smith in Johannesburg

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 June 2012 11.30 EDT

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Three of Africa's most dangerous Islamist militant groups are striving to co-ordinate their operations and represent a deepening threat to security on the continent, the US has warned.

General Carter Ham, head of the US military's Africa Command, said there were signs that Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabaab in Somalia and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb were sharing money and explosive materials and training fighters together.

"Each of those three organisations is by itself a dangerous and worrisome threat," Ham told an African Centre for Strategic Studies seminar in Washington. "What really concerns me is the indications that the three organisations are seeking to co-ordinate and synchronise their efforts – in other words, to establish a co-operative effort amongst the three most violent organisations … And I think that's a real problem for us and for African security in general."

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