Boko Haram militant says 'it's acceptable to fire on' children

A member of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, which abducted nearly 300 schoolgirls, has said it is acceptable to fire on children.

Saleh Abubakar has tried to justify the targeting of children and warned of more kidnappings in an interview with CBS News.

Abubakar said 'you see the enemies among the children, it's acceptable to fire on all of them. You cannot differentiate the children'.

He added that the abduction of the girls was in planning stages for three months.

According to the report, he claimed to have seen the abducted girls three weeks ago and said they are fine.

He said nothing will happen to the girls as long as the government releases Boko Haram fighters being held in Nigerian jails.

He did not reveal whether the girls had been moved across the border and claimed they would no longer be sold as slaves because they had all converted willingly to Islam.

The Nigerian Government said Boko Haram is linked to al Qaeda, but Abubakar would not confirm if al Qaeda funds their terrorist group, the report added.