This Tuesday, Islamic terror group Boko Haram took responsibility for kidnapping almost 700 children from a secondary school in Nigeria.
In a four-minute audio clip, the Nigerian militant group identified themselves as the ones responsible for kidnapping an estimated 668 schoolboys in Kankara located in the northern Katsina State of Nigeria, Breitbart reported.
The man in the video, who identified himself as Abubaker Shekau, said that he was Boko Haram's leader. Shekau also claimed that his "brothers are behind the kidnapping in Katsina."
The clip released on Tuesday, Dec. 15, is now investigated by multiple military sources according to the Anadolu Agency in Turkey.
"Multiple [Nigerian] military sources said security officials are investigating the claim,"
However, the alleged leader of the militant group claimed that their reason for kidnapping the children is because "western education" is not the kind of education that is permitted by Allah.
In the recording, Shekau stated:
"What happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic practices as Western education is not the type of education permitted by Allah and his Holy Prophet,"
"They are also not teaching what Allah and his Holy Prophet commanded. They are rather destroying Islam. It may be subtle, but Allah the lord of the skies and earths knows whatever is hidden. May Allah promote Islam. May we die as Muslims."
According to Breitbart, the kidnappning happened on a Friday night of Dec. 11 when about a hundred gunmen on motorcycle ambushed the Government Science Secondary School, an all-boys school in Kankara.
"Residents and survivors said the abductors rode to the school in about 100 motorbikes, firing assault rifles to escape into the bush after dividing the boys into groups."
The Anadolu Agency also reported that military forces were able to rescue some of the students on Monday after a gun battle.
"At least 17 of the students were rescued on Monday after a gun battle between military forces and the armed group, according to Aminu Masari, Katsina's governor."
Aside from the extraction efforts of the military forces on Monday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari immediately ordered a rescue operation of the abducted children over the weekend. President Buhari gave orders to deploy Nigeria Army troops and even helicopters to comb the surrounding area of Katsina including its forests area and neighboring villages.
Monday after the search, Boko Haram contacted a teacher at the school to demand the government to call off its search.
The director general of media Abdu Labaran from the Katsina state governor's office told CNN that the abductors did not ask for a ransom, but instead made a demand to tell the helicopter surveillance deployed by the government.
"The apparent kidnappers are making a demand via a teacher at [the] school. The abductors of the Kankara students have contacted a teacher and asked him to tell the government to stop the helicopter surveillance. They have not asked for ransom," Labaran said.
With 17 of the schoolboys successfully recovered, at least 337 schoolboys are still missing.
Boko Haram had been doing mass abduction since it began as a jihadi insurgency group in Nigeria. In 2014, the terror group abducted 276 schoolgirls in Chibok with most of the girls still missing today.
Last month, the terror group killed 110 farmers in what is believed to be its deadliest attack. The farmers reportedly came to the northeast side of Nigeria to find work. They came from the country's northwest area.
