Boko Haram: All Kidnapped Girls Are Married Off

The leader of Boko Haram says in a new video that the 200 girls his group kidnapped will never go home: All have been converted to Islam and married off, declares Abubakar Shekau with a laugh. "If you knew the state your daughters are in today, it might lead some of you ... to die from grief," he says, addressing the parents of the girls and young women kidnapped from a remote boarding school more than six months ago. Nigeria claimed to have struck a deal last month for the girls' freedom, but Shekau denies any such truce. He also threatens to kill an unidentified German hostage. "Don't you know we are still holding your German hostage (who is) always crying," he says. "If we want, we will hack him or slaughter him or shoot him."

In the new video, Shekau wears a camouflage tunic and pants, and the black and white flag of al-Qaeda is by his side. He is flanked by masked and armed fighters standing in front of four military pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. Nigeria's military has several times claimed to have killed Shekau, and says any new videos are made by a look-alike. But the United States has not removed a $7 million ransom on his head. In the video, the sneering Shekau says Boko Haram is interested only in "battle, hitting, striking, and killing with the gun, which we look forward to like a tasty meal." (More Abubakar Shekau stories.)