Boko Haram kills scores in attacks in northern Nigeria

A terror group linked with al Qaeda’s affiliates in Africa has launched a series of attacks in northern Nigeria that have killed scores of people. The recent attacks launched by Boko Haram included suicide assaults, roadside bombs, and gunmen, and took place in several cities and towns in the north.

The most deadly attacks were conducted in the town of Damaturu, where Boko Haram fighters bombed and attacked nine churches, several mosques, and the Yobe state police headquarters. Boko Haram fighters then engaged in “running battles with security forces,” according to the BBC. Attacks were also reported in the nearby town of Potiskum.

The attack on the Yobe state police headquarters in Damaturu was carried out by a suicide bomber, according to Nigerian officials.

“It was a suicide bomb attack at one of our buildings. The attacker came in a Honda CRV and rammed into the building and explosives exploded,” a police commissioner told AFP.

More than 90 people may have been killed during the battles in Damaturu and Potiskum. None of those killed were members of Nigeria’s security forces, according to Reuters.

The fighting in in Damaturu and Potiskum occurred after Boko Haram executed a series of suicide and IED attacks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. At least three people were reported killed as the terror group launched a suicide attack against Joint Task Force Headquarters and detonated IEDs outside the State Security Services and an Islamic university.

Boko Haram embraces the tactic of suicide attacks

During the past few years, Boko Haram has received outside support from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Somalia’s Shabaab, two groups that have used suicide attacks. But prior to this year, Boko Haram had not engaged in suicide attacks. The group’s recent adoption of the tactic likely reflects the influence of AQIM and Shabaab.

In addition to today’s attacks, Boko Haram has carried out two other suicide attacks in Nigeria this year and attempted another.

On June 16, a suicide bomber killed one person and wounded several more in an attack on a police station in Abuja. Two days later, Boko Haram said it carried out the suicide attack. “We are responsible for the bomb attack on the police headquarters in Abuja, which was to prove a point to all those who doubt our capability,” the group said in a statement.

On Aug. 17, police killed a suicide bomber before he could detonate his car bomb after he rammed a police station in Maiduguri. Police said the suicide bomber was a member of Boko Haram.

And on Aug. 26, a Boko Haram suicide bomber attacked the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, killing at least 18 people and wounding scores more. A Boko Haram spokesman known as Abu Darda claimed credit for the attack and vowed to carry out more.

“We have said it several times that the UN is one of our prime targets,” Abu Darda continued. “More attacks are on the way, and by the will of Allah we will have unfettered access to wherever we want to attack. We have more than 100 men who are willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Allah.”

Background on Boko Haram

Boko Haram, which translates to “education is sin,” is also known by its Arabic name, Al Sunnah Wal Jamma, or the “Followers of Mohammad’s Teachings.” The group was founded in 2004 in Kanamma village in northern Yobe State, which borders Niger. Boko Haram seeks to establish an Islamic state in the African country.

Even though sharia law has been enforced more strictly in the 12 predominantly Muslim states of northern Nigeria since 2000, Boko Haram demands a “full Sharia” adoption of Islamic law in the 12 states of northern Nigeria. The group also seeks a ban throughout Nigeria on Western education, culture, and science that the group deems sinful; and, contrary to its name, the group aims to provide Islamic schooling as the only form of education to the public.

Abdullah, a member of Boko Haram, told Reuters in 2009 that the group intends to “clean the (Nigerian) system which is polluted by western education and uphold the Sharia all over the country.”

The group has been waging a low-level insurgency against the Nigerian government since 2009, when major clashes between the two broke out in northern Nigeria during the summer of that year. Police killed hundreds of Boko Haram fighters, and captured and then executed Mohammad Yusuf, the terror group’s former leader.

Since the violent 2009 uprising by Boko Haram, the group has conducted numerous attacks against the Nigerian police and military, as well as against clerics and politicians who oppose the group. The city of Maiduguri in the northeastern state of Borno has been the center of Boko Haram’s insurgency. Thousands of families have fled the city, fearing clashes between police and the group.

Boko Haram has conducted large-scale operations in the north. In September 2010, its fighters raided a prison in the town of Bauchi, freeing more than 800 inmates, including 200 Boko Haram members. Upwards of 50 Boko Haram members stormed the prison armed with AK-47s and killed four people, including two bodyguards, and wounded four others.

Boko Haram has also expanded its propaganda efforts to show solidarity with al Qaeda and its affiliates. In July 2010, Imam Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, issued an online statement praising al Qaeda and offered condolences to al Qaeda of Iraq for its loss of Abu Ayyub al Masri and Abu Omar al Baghdadi.

“Do not think jihad is over,” Shekau said. “Rather jihad has just begun. O America, die with your fury.”

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, Nigeria, Shabaab