2 Nigerian networks designated as terrorist groups

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers who had long pushed for U.S. action against Nigerian Islamic extremists welcomed the State Department’s decision on Wednesday to designate two militant groups as foreign terrorist organizations blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in Africa’s most populous nation.

Ansaru and Boko Haram, which have links to al-Qaida, are waging a brutal campaign against military, government and civilian targets, including Christians like Habila Adamu, who delivered emotional congressional testimony about being shot in the face because he refused to renounce his faith.