News

It appears that Boko-Haram is taking the lead when it comes
to Terrorism around the world and this new article by NY
Times puts West Africa’s Boko-Haram ahead of ISIS .
Read the article below;
As much of the world remains focused on the Islamic
State and its horrific attacks in Paris, another radical
band of extremists has, by one account, captured the
infamous title of the world’s deadliest terrorist group:
Boko Haram .
Boko Haram , the militant group that has tortured
Nigeria and its neighbours for years, was responsible
for 6,664 deaths last year, more than any other
terrorist group in the world, including the Islamic
State, which killed 6,073 people in 2014, according to
a report released Wednesday tracking terrorist
attacks globally.
The death toll in Nigeria mounted on Wednesday,
with a bombing in Kano State in northern Nigeria, not
even a full day after Boko Haram was suspected in an
explosion that killed and injured dozens in another
nearby region.
In Kano, the authorities said that two female suicide
bombers detonated vests at a cellphone market at
about 4 p.m., killing at least 12 people and wounding
dozens. Witnesses and Red Cross officials said that as
many as 50 or 60 people died, though the number
could not be independently confirmed. Officials
accused Boko Haram in the attacks.
In a statement Wednesday, President Muhammadu
Buhari called for Nigerians to stay vigilant, saying
that even his recently intensified military operation
against Boko Haram could not prevent every attack.
“President Buhari reassures Nigerians that his
administration is very much determined to wipe out
Boko Haram in Nigeria and bring all perpetrators of
these heinous crimes against humanity to justice,” the
release said.
Pres. Buhari, who took office in May, ran on a
platform of eliminating Boko Haram , which he has
pledged to do by the end of December, as well as
cutting back on corruption that has dogged the
nation.
This week, Pres. Buhari accused the previous
administration’s national security adviser, Sambo
Dasuki, of pocketing more than $2 billion that had
been allocated for warplanes, helicopters and other
military gear to fight Boko Haram . Mr. Dasuki has
denied the allegations.
Pres. Buhari has announced recent victories against
Boko Haram , including seizing bomb-making
materials and winning battles in the forest.
But still the bombings have come at a rapid clip in
recent weeks, bringing death to a food market in
Kano, areas of Niger and Cameroon and a village in
Chad, prompting officials to call a state of emergency
there.
Boko Haram has pledged its allegiance to the Islamic
State, but it is unclear what support the group is
giving Boko Haram beyond assisting with publicity.
The report released Wednesday, from the Institute of
Economics & Peace, said the Islamic State and Boko
Haram were responsible for half of all global deaths
attributed to terrorism.
Last year, the deaths attributed to Boko Haram alone
increased by more than 300 percent, the report said.
The report found a drastic increase in terrorist
attacks last year, with the majority occurring in three
countries: Iraq, Syria and Nigeria, where other
militant groups besides Boko Haram operate.
“In Nigeria, private citizens are overwhelmingly
targeted, most often with firearms resulting in very
high levels of deaths per attack,” according to the
report.
Security experts, regional authorities and Western
military officials have credited Pres. Buhari’s
renewed push against Boko Haram for scattering the
group, which gained notoriety in the United States
when it kidnapped scores of schoolgirls and seized
entire towns in northern Nigeria.
They say the string of recent attacks on various public
places is evidence that the group is grasping to gain
real ground and is no longer as capable of holding
territory. Still, attacks in crowded spots like schools
and markets, long a staple of Boko Haram ’s mayhem,
can be extremely deadly.
This is the third year the economics and peace
institute has released its Global Terrorism Index, a
study of terrorist activity around the world. The index
is based on data collected as part of a program run
by the University of Maryland dedicated to the study
of terrorism around the world.
In Cameroon, the report said Boko Haram had
expanded its reach into the country with bombings.