#BringOurGirlsBack Even Al Qaeda Thinks Kidnapping The 230 Nigerian Schoolgirls Was Taking It Too Far

You know you’ve messed up if Al Qaeda is chastising you.

Following the news that 230* girls were abducted from their Nigerian school in April, Boko Haram militants have since taken responsibility for the kidnappings, and admitted they’re planning on selling the young women, ages 16 to 18, into marriages on the black market.

Now reports are emerging that other Islamist extremists — those who have distorted the religion in the name of “jihad” — are opposed to these abductions, acknowledging that Boko Haram, which has been terrorizing Nigeria for years, has gone too far.

According to various jihadi forums, frequent posters (some of whom are believed to be Al Qaeda members and leaders) believe that this group has erred in its kidnapping of innocent schoolchildren, and that even their actions are “tainting” the real aim and branded image of other extremist groups abroad.

These posts apparently indicate a longtime-coming rift in the extremist community, many of whom believe that Boko Haram’s violence is becoming increasingly meaningless and focused on the wrong individuals.

A month before the kidnappings, Boko Haram orchestrated a major bombing in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, killing 75 people. Just last Friday, the group again detonated a car bomb, which resulted in 19 deaths, with 66 additional people injured.

*Editor’s Note: The actual figure of Nigerian schoolgirls who were abducted varies from source to source, but US intelligence now estimates that number to be 276.