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Anorak News | Boko Haram And The War On Nigeria’s Islamists: A Photo Essay

Boko Haram And The War On Nigeria’s Islamists: A Photo Essay

by | 24th, October 2014

ISLAMIST group Boko Harem are waging a bloody war for souls and heavenly rewards in Nigeria. Boko Harem want to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state in which any form of Western society (music, dance, shorts trousers, dresses, equal rights for women, respect of other religions, cartoons..) is banned on punishment of death.

They want Western-style education banned. They want Christianity routed.

So. Boko Harem have raided schools and kidnapped hundreds of girls.

The group’s official name is Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”. Boko Harem is a nickname meaning “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language.

This is the story of a bloody war ofor Nigeria’s heart and soul:

 

 

In this photo taken Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, Cameroonians former hostages, meet with Cameroonian President, Paul Biya during a reception in Yaounde, Cameroon. Biya received former hostages, 10 Chinese and 17 Cameroonians, who were freed from captivity last week after spending some months held by armed men thought to belong to the militant rebel Islamist group Boko Haram in Nigeria which has been increasingly making incursions into Cameroon. (AP Photo/ Fabrice Ngon)

In this photo taken Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, Cameroonians former hostages, meet with Cameroonian President, Paul Biya during a reception in Yaounde, Cameroon. Biya received former hostages, 10 Chinese and 17 Cameroonians, who were freed from captivity last week after spending some months held by armed men thought to belong to the militant rebel Islamist group Boko Haram in Nigeria which has been increasingly making incursions into Cameroon. (AP Photo/ Fabrice Ngon)

An unidentified official displays burnt equipment inside a prison in Bauchi, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010, after the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect armed with assault rifles launched an attack at sunset on Tuesday Sept. 7, on the prison to free more than 100 inmates who are followers of the sect. The highly organized and coordinated assault left the prison in ruins and has raised new fears of renewed violence in the oil-rich nation just months before scheduled elections, and shows they have access to sophisticated weaponry. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

An unidentified official displays burnt equipment inside a prison in Bauchi, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010, after the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect armed with assault rifles launched an attack at sunset on Tuesday Sept. 7, on the prison to free more than 100 inmates who are followers of the sect. The highly organized and coordinated assault left the prison in ruins and has raised new fears of renewed violence in the oil-rich nation just months before scheduled elections, and shows they have access to sophisticated weaponry. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In a Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011 file photo, onlookers gather around a car destroyed in a blast next to St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Nigeria after an explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria's capital Sunday, killing scores of people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect, Boko Haram, claimed the attack and another bombing near a church in the restive city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation's northeast. Boko Haram's insurgency started with robed men on motorcycles killing their enemies one at a time across Nigeria's remote and dusty northeast. Now the radical Muslim sect's attacks have morphed into a nationwide sectarian fight. (AP Photo/Sunday Aghaeze, File)

In a Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011 file photo, onlookers gather around a car destroyed in a blast next to St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Nigeria after an explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria’s capital Sunday, killing scores of people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect, Boko Haram, claimed the attack and another bombing near a church in the restive city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation’s northeast. Boko Haram’s insurgency started with robed men on motorcycles killing their enemies one at a time across Nigeria’s remote and dusty northeast. Now the radical Muslim sect’s attacks have morphed into a nationwide sectarian fight. (AP Photo/Sunday Aghaeze, File)

Emir of Kano, Ado Bayaro, is seen at his palace in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Emir of Kano, Ado Bayaro, is seen at his palace in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state’s top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

This image taken from a video posted by Boko Haram sympathisers shows the leader of the radical Islamist sect Imam Abubakar Shekau, made available Wednesday Jan. 10, 2012. The video of Imam Abubakar Shekau cements his leadership in the sect known as Boko Haram. Analysts and diplomats say the sect has fractured over time, with a splinter group responsible for the majority of the assassinations and bombings carried out in it's name.

This image taken from a video posted by Boko Haram sympathisers shows the leader of the radical Islamist sect Imam Abubakar Shekau, made available Wednesday Jan. 10, 2012. The video of Imam Abubakar Shekau cements his leadership in the sect known as Boko Haram. Analysts and diplomats say the sect has fractured over time, with a splinter group responsible for the majority of the assassinations and bombings carried out in it’s name.

Women attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped school girls of a government secondary school Chibok, outside the defense headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday May 6, 2014. Their plight — and the failure of the Nigerian military to find them — has drawn international attention to an escalating Islamic extremist insurrection that has killed more than 1,500 so far this year. Boko Haram, the name means "Western education is sinful," has claimed responsibility for the mass kidnapping and threatened to sell the girls. The claim was made in a video seen Monday. The British and U.S. governments have expressed concern over the fate of the missing students, and protests have erupted in major Nigerian cities and in New York. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Women attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped school girls of a government secondary school Chibok, outside the defense headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday May 6, 2014. Their plight — and the failure of the Nigerian military to find them — has drawn international attention to an escalating Islamic extremist insurrection that has killed more than 1,500 so far this year. Boko Haram, the name means “Western education is sinful,” has claimed responsibility for the mass kidnapping and threatened to sell the girls. The claim was made in a video seen Monday. The British and U.S. governments have expressed concern over the fate of the missing students, and protests have erupted in major Nigerian cities and in New York. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

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In this Monday April 21, 2014 file photo, four female students of the government secondary school Chibok, who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families, walk in Chibok, Nigeria. A civil society group says Wednesday April 30, 2014, that villagers are reporting that scores of girls and young women who were recently kidnapped from a school in Nigeria are being forced to marry Islamic extremists. A federal senator for the area in northeast Nigeria wants the government to get international help to rescue the more than 200 missing girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from a school two weeks ago. (AP Photo/ Haruna Umar, File)

In this Monday April 21, 2014 file photo, four female students of the government secondary school Chibok, who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families, walk in Chibok, Nigeria. A civil society group says Wednesday April 30, 2014, that villagers are reporting that scores of girls and young women who were recently kidnapped from a school in Nigeria are being forced to marry Islamic extremists. A federal senator for the area in northeast Nigeria wants the government to get international help to rescue the more than 200 missing girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from a school two weeks ago. (AP Photo/ Haruna Umar, File)

 this photo taken with an iPad on Friday, Jan. 31, 2013, women and children who survived attacks by Boko haram sits outside a compound at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, in Wada Chakawa, Yola, Nigeria. Before the usher could finish warning worshippers of the gunmen approaching, the attackers were storming into the church, locking the main door, exploding homemade bombs and firing into the congregation. The shooting continued as some people scrambled to escape out of windows and through the back door of the sacristy. Some had their throats slit in last Sunday's attack on St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church in Wada Chakawa village in northeast Nigeria. (AP Photo/ Ibrahim Abdulaziz)

this photo taken with an iPad on Friday, Jan. 31, 2013, women and children who survived attacks by Boko haram sits outside a compound at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, in Wada Chakawa, Yola, Nigeria. Before the usher could finish warning worshippers of the gunmen approaching, the attackers were storming into the church, locking the main door, exploding homemade bombs and firing into the congregation. The shooting continued as some people scrambled to escape out of windows and through the back door of the sacristy. Some had their throats slit in last Sunday’s attack on St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Wada Chakawa village in northeast Nigeria. (AP Photo/ Ibrahim Abdulaziz)

A man walks past a burnt out building following an attacked by Boko Haram in Bama, Nigeria, Thursday, Feb, 20. 2013. The latest attack by suspected Islamic extremists in Nigeria's northeast has left 115 people dead, more than 1,500 buildings razed and some 400 vehicles destroyed, witnesses said Thursday, as a traditional ruler accused the military of being scared to confront the militants. Sitting amid the smoking ruins of his palace, the shehu, or king, of Bama, Kyari Ibn Elkanemi, charged that the government "is not serious" about halting the Islamic uprising in a region covering one-sixth of the country, far from oil fields that make Nigeria Africa's biggest petroleum producer. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)

A man walks past a burnt out building following an attacked by Boko Haram in Bama, Nigeria, Thursday, Feb, 20. 2013. The latest attack by suspected Islamic extremists in Nigeria’s northeast has left 115 people dead, more than 1,500 buildings razed and some 400 vehicles destroyed, witnesses said Thursday, as a traditional ruler accused the military of being scared to confront the militants. Sitting amid the smoking ruins of his palace, the shehu, or king, of Bama, Kyari Ibn Elkanemi, charged that the government “is not serious” about halting the Islamic uprising in a region covering one-sixth of the country, far from oil fields that make Nigeria Africa’s biggest petroleum producer. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)

In this photo taken on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, police and soldiers stand in front of a burnt out army barracks following an attack by Boko Haram in in Damaturu, Nigeria. Nigerian military and hospital reports indicate a 5-hour-long battle between Islamic extremists and troops in the capital of Nigeria’s Yobe state last Thursday and Friday killed at least 90 militants, 23 soldiers and eight police officers. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, police and soldiers stand in front of a burnt out army barracks following an attack by Boko Haram in in Damaturu, Nigeria. Nigerian military and hospital reports indicate a 5-hour-long battle between Islamic extremists and troops in the capital of Nigeria’s Yobe state last Thursday and Friday killed at least 90 militants, 23 soldiers and eight police officers. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken with an iPad empty shells use by Boko haram Islamists lie on the ground near an air force base in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Monday, Dec, 2. 2013. Hundreds of Islamic militants in trucks and a stolen armored personnel carrier attacked an air force base and international airport on the outskirts of a Nigerian city before dawn Monday, officials and witnesses said, possibly leaving scores of people dead in one of the insurgent group's most daring attacks. (AP Photo/Abdulkareem Haruna)

In this photo taken with an iPad empty shells use by Boko haram Islamists lie on the ground near an air force base in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Monday, Dec, 2. 2013. Hundreds of Islamic militants in trucks and a stolen armored personnel carrier attacked an air force base and international airport on the outskirts of a Nigerian city before dawn Monday, officials and witnesses said, possibly leaving scores of people dead in one of the insurgent group’s most daring attacks. (AP Photo/Abdulkareem Haruna)

Former French hostage Francis Collomp speaks to the media after a visit with French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013. Collomp escaped from his abductors in Zaria, in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna, and went to the nearest police station, said Kaduna State Police Commissioner Olufemi Adenaike on Nov 17, 2013. Police identified no suspects, but the Boko Haram splinter group Ansaru had claimed responsibility for his kidnapping. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Former French hostage Francis Collomp speaks to the media after a visit with French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013. Collomp escaped from his abductors in Zaria, in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna, and went to the nearest police station, said Kaduna State Police Commissioner Olufemi Adenaike on Nov 17, 2013. Police identified no suspects, but the Boko Haram splinter group Ansaru had claimed responsibility for his kidnapping. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Suspected Boko Haram sect members from left, Muhammed Nazeef Yunus, Umar Musa, Mustapha Yusuf, Ismaila Abdulazeez, and Ibrahim Isah, are paraded by Nigeria secret police, in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. Nigeria’s intelligence agency paraded five suspected Islamic extremists including a university lecturer accused of plotting terrorism. Yunus, 44, denied the charge and told reporters that instead his lectures are against the network accused of killing hundreds of mainly Muslim civilian victims in northeast Nigeria in recent weeks. The northeast has been under a state of emergency since May. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga)

Suspected Boko Haram sect members from left, Muhammed Nazeef Yunus, Umar Musa, Mustapha Yusuf, Ismaila Abdulazeez, and Ibrahim Isah, are paraded by Nigeria secret police, in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. Nigeria’s intelligence agency paraded five suspected Islamic extremists including a university lecturer accused of plotting terrorism. Yunus, 44, denied the charge and told reporters that instead his lectures are against the network accused of killing hundreds of mainly Muslim civilian victims in northeast Nigeria in recent weeks. The northeast has been under a state of emergency since May. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga)

Suspected Boko Haram sect member Muhammed Nazeef Yunus, an assistant lecturer, reacts as he is paraded by Nigeria secret police, in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. Nigeria’s intelligence agency paraded five suspected Islamic extremists including a university lecturer accused of plotting terrorism. Yunus, 44, denied that and told reporters that instead his lectures are against the network accused of killing hundreds of mainly Muslim civilian victims in northeast Nigeria in recent weeks. The northeast has been under a state of emergency since May. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga)

Suspected Boko Haram sect member Muhammed Nazeef Yunus, an assistant lecturer, reacts as he is paraded by Nigeria secret police, in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. Nigeria’s intelligence agency paraded five suspected Islamic extremists including a university lecturer accused of plotting terrorism. Yunus, 44, denied that and told reporters that instead his lectures are against the network accused of killing hundreds of mainly Muslim civilian victims in northeast Nigeria in recent weeks. The northeast has been under a state of emergency since May. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga)

In this photo taken on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, police and soldiers stand in front of a burnt out army barracks following an attack by Boko Haram in in Damaturu, Nigeria. Nigerian military and hospital reports indicate a 5-hour-long battle between Islamic extremists and troops in the capital of Nigeria’s Yobe state last Thursday and Friday killed at least 90 militants, 23 soldiers and eight police officers. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, police and soldiers stand in front of a burnt out army barracks following an attack by Boko Haram in in Damaturu, Nigeria. Nigerian military and hospital reports indicate a 5-hour-long battle between Islamic extremists and troops in the capital of Nigeria’s Yobe state last Thursday and Friday killed at least 90 militants, 23 soldiers and eight police officers. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, people inspect burnt weapons following an attack by Boko Haram in in Damaturu, Nigeria. Nigerian military and hospital reports indicate a 5-hour-long battle between Islamic extremists and troops in the capital of Nigeria’s Yobe state last Thursday and Friday killed at least 90 militants, 23 soldiers and eight police officers. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, people inspect burnt weapons following an attack by Boko Haram in in Damaturu, Nigeria. Nigerian military and hospital reports indicate a 5-hour-long battle between Islamic extremists and troops in the capital of Nigeria’s Yobe state last Thursday and Friday killed at least 90 militants, 23 soldiers and eight police officers. (AP Photo)

In this image taken with a mobile phone, rescue workers and family members gather to identify the bodies of students killed following an attack by Islamist extremist on an agricultural college in Gujba, Nigeria, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, Suspected Islamic extremists attacked the Yobe State College of Agriculture early Sunday, gunning down students as they slept in dormitories and torching classrooms, leaving some 50 students dead in the attack according to college Provost Molima Idi Mato. The attack is seen as part of an ongoing Islamic uprising in northeastern Nigeria prosecuted by Boko Haram militants in their declared quest to install an Islamic state. (AP Photo)

In this image taken with a mobile phone, rescue workers and family members gather to identify the bodies of students killed following an attack by Islamist extremist on an agricultural college in Gujba, Nigeria, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, Suspected Islamic extremists attacked the Yobe State College of Agriculture early Sunday, gunning down students as they slept in dormitories and torching classrooms, leaving some 50 students dead in the attack according to college Provost Molima Idi Mato. The attack is seen as part of an ongoing Islamic uprising in northeastern Nigeria prosecuted by Boko Haram militants in their declared quest to install an Islamic state. (AP Photo)

n this image taken with a mobile phone, rescue workers and family members gather to identify the shrouded bodies of students killed following an attack by Islamist extremist on an agricultural college in Gujba, Nigeria, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, Suspected Islamic extremists attacked the Yobe State College of Agriculture early Sunday, gunning down students as they slept in dormitories and torching classrooms, leaving some 50 students dead in the attack according to college Provost Molima Idi Mato. The attack is seen as part of an ongoing Islamic uprising in northeastern Nigeria prosecuted by Boko Haram militants in their declared quest to install an Islamic state. (AP Photo)

n this image taken with a mobile phone, rescue workers and family members gather to identify the shrouded bodies of students killed following an attack by Islamist extremist on an agricultural college in Gujba, Nigeria, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, Suspected Islamic extremists attacked the Yobe State College of Agriculture early Sunday, gunning down students as they slept in dormitories and torching classrooms, leaving some 50 students dead in the attack according to college Provost Molima Idi Mato. The attack is seen as part of an ongoing Islamic uprising in northeastern Nigeria prosecuted by Boko Haram militants in their declared quest to install an Islamic state. (AP Photo)

 this Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013 file photo, Habiba Saadu, right, 48, a member of the vigilante force dubbed the Civilian JTF, searches a woman under her veil at a check point in Maiduguri, Nigeria. In an area of Nigeria where an Islamic insurgency has caught fire, security forces are carrying out night raids in residential neighborhoods and have arrested many people. Saadu’s two sons and her daughter were taken Aug. 3 by soldiers who went from house to house in a night raid in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, accusing them of participating in the uprising by Boko Haram, an armed Islamic group that has been waging a bloody war in Africa’s most populous nation for four years. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

this Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013 file photo, Habiba Saadu, right, 48, a member of the vigilante force dubbed the Civilian JTF, searches a woman under her veil at a check point in Maiduguri, Nigeria. In an area of Nigeria where an Islamic insurgency has caught fire, security forces are carrying out night raids in residential neighborhoods and have arrested many people. Saadu’s two sons and her daughter were taken Aug. 3 by soldiers who went from house to house in a night raid in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, accusing them of participating in the uprising by Boko Haram, an armed Islamic group that has been waging a bloody war in Africa’s most populous nation for four years. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013, Nigeria security forces, left, watch as a member of the "Civilian JTF" right, pushes a man during an event, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The battered old car, cutlasses and nail-studded clubs poking out of its windows, careens down the road and squeals to a stop. Its young occupants pile out, shouting with glee, and set up a roadblock. They are part of a vigilante force that has arisen here as a backlash against Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist network responsible for 1,700 deaths in Nigeria since 2010, according to a count by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013, Nigeria security forces, left, watch as a member of the “Civilian JTF” right, pushes a man during an event, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The battered old car, cutlasses and nail-studded clubs poking out of its windows, careens down the road and squeals to a stop. Its young occupants pile out, shouting with glee, and set up a roadblock. They are part of a vigilante force that has arisen here as a backlash against Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist network responsible for 1,700 deaths in Nigeria since 2010, according to a count by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013 , vigilantes of the civilian JTF with cutlasses and clubs mount a check point on the street of Maiduguri, Nigeria. Thousands of suspected members of Boko Haram arrested in Maiduguri, birthplace of the Islamic extremist terrorist network, have been discovered by these young volunteers who call themselves the “Civilian JTF,” fashioned after the military Joint Task Force sent to enforce a 3-month-old state of emergency and hunt the extremists down.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013 , vigilantes of the civilian JTF with cutlasses and clubs mount a check point on the street of Maiduguri, Nigeria. Thousands of suspected members of Boko Haram arrested in Maiduguri, birthplace of the Islamic extremist terrorist network, have been discovered by these young volunteers who call themselves the “Civilian JTF,” fashioned after the military Joint Task Force sent to enforce a 3-month-old state of emergency and hunt the extremists down.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013, Nigeria security forces, left, watch as a member of the "Civilian JTF" right, pushes a man during an event, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The battered old car, cutlasses and nail-studded clubs poking out of its windows, careens down the road and squeals to a stop. Its young occupants pile out, shouting with glee, and set up a roadblock. They are part of a vigilante force that has arisen here as a backlash against Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist network responsible for 1,700 deaths in Nigeria since 2010, according to a count by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013, Nigeria security forces, left, watch as a member of the “Civilian JTF” right, pushes a man during an event, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The battered old car, cutlasses and nail-studded clubs poking out of its windows, careens down the road and squeals to a stop. Its young occupants pile out, shouting with glee, and set up a roadblock. They are part of a vigilante force that has arisen here as a backlash against Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist network responsible for 1,700 deaths in Nigeria since 2010, according to a count by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

 this file photo taken Wednesday, March. 21, 2012. bodies of suspected members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, are seen in the pick up van at the Bukavu Barracks in, Nigeria, Suspected members of Boko Haram attacked a police headquarters, the home of a senior police officer and set fire to a nearby bank, in Tunun Wade, Nigeria, also stealing police uniforms, and weapons before clashing with the military during their escape, Brig. Gen. Iliyasu Abba told journalists during a briefing Wednesday. Now, Boko Haram seems to be growing ever-stronger, killing more people than ever before and slowly internationalizing their outlook, a possible danger for the rest of West Africa. More than 770 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks so far this year, according to an Associated Press count, making 2012 the worst year of violence attributed to the group (AP Photos/Salisu Rabiu, File)

this file photo taken Wednesday, March. 21, 2012. bodies of suspected members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, are seen in the pick up van at the Bukavu Barracks in, Nigeria, Suspected members of Boko Haram attacked a police headquarters, the home of a senior police officer and set fire to a nearby bank, in Tunun Wade, Nigeria, also stealing police uniforms, and weapons before clashing with the military during their escape, Brig. Gen. Iliyasu Abba told journalists during a briefing Wednesday. Now, Boko Haram seems to be growing ever-stronger, killing more people than ever before and slowly internationalizing their outlook, a possible danger for the rest of West Africa. More than 770 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks so far this year, according to an Associated Press count, making 2012 the worst year of violence attributed to the group (AP Photos/Salisu Rabiu, File)

In this Wednesday, June 5, 2013 file photo, journalists look at arms and ammunition which military commanders say they seized from Islamic fighters, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. Boko Haram, the radical group that once attacked only government institutions and security forces, is increasingly targeting civilians. Some 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of Nigeria are now under a state of emergency. On Friday, June 21, 2013, villagers streamed into Maiduguri from the Gwoza hills, saying Boko Haram fighters were threatening a bloodbath in the area where they appear to have regrouped, scrubby mountains with rock caves some 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the city. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)

In this Wednesday, June 5, 2013 file photo, journalists look at arms and ammunition which military commanders say they seized from Islamic fighters, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. Boko Haram, the radical group that once attacked only government institutions and security forces, is increasingly targeting civilians. Some 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of Nigeria are now under a state of emergency. On Friday, June 21, 2013, villagers streamed into Maiduguri from the Gwoza hills, saying Boko Haram fighters were threatening a bloodbath in the area where they appear to have regrouped, scrubby mountains with rock caves some 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the city. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, an Igbo woman walks past engine oil displayed for sale on a street in Nnewi, Nigeria. Assaults by a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram have sent many Igbo people to flee the north even as state officials and others downplay the exodus, likely out of fear of sparking retaliatory violence. (AP Photos/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, an Igbo woman walks past engine oil displayed for sale on a street in Nnewi, Nigeria. Assaults by a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram have sent many Igbo people to flee the north even as state officials and others downplay the exodus, likely out of fear of sparking retaliatory violence. (AP Photos/Sunday Alamba)

Police officers stand behind burnt out motor taxis following last Friday's suicide bombing outside the state police headquarters in Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Police said Tuesday that members of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram dressed in uniforms resembling those of soldiers and police officers when they launched their attack Friday in Kano. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Police officers stand behind burnt out motor taxis following last Friday’s suicide bombing outside the state police headquarters in Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Police said Tuesday that members of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram dressed in uniforms resembling those of soldiers and police officers when they launched their attack Friday in Kano. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

An anti bomb police officer collect undetonated soft drink can bombs recovery from islamic militants in Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Police said Tuesday that members of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram dressed in uniforms resembling those of soldiers and police officers when they launched their attack Friday in Kano. At least 185 people died in the attacks. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

An anti bomb police officer collect undetonated soft drink can bombs recovery from islamic militants in Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Police said Tuesday that members of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram dressed in uniforms resembling those of soldiers and police officers when they launched their attack Friday in Kano. At least 185 people died in the attacks. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

People look at a bullet casing sitting in a pool of blood and bullet holes in a house at the center of a gun battle early Tuesday morning in the city of Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Witnesses at the house said security forces surrounded it and forced their way inside shooting, killing a man and a pregnant woman while searching for members of a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram. Police declined to immediately comment about the shooting.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

People look at a bullet casing sitting in a pool of blood and bullet holes in a house at the center of a gun battle early Tuesday morning in the city of Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Witnesses at the house said security forces surrounded it and forced their way inside shooting, killing a man and a pregnant woman while searching for members of a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram. Police declined to immediately comment about the shooting.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken with a mobile phone, a man receives treatment at Konduga specialist hospital, following an attack by suspected Islamic extremists in Kawuri, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014. At least 85 residents of Kawuri village in Nigeria’s northeast were unable to escape from attackers who blew up the weekly market as villagers were packing up and then razed at least 300 homes, a local official said Tuesday. The suspected Boko Haram members even left behind explosives that went off the next morning. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)

In this photo taken with a mobile phone, a man receives treatment at Konduga specialist hospital, following an attack by suspected Islamic extremists in Kawuri, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014. At least 85 residents of Kawuri village in Nigeria’s northeast were unable to escape from attackers who blew up the weekly market as villagers were packing up and then razed at least 300 homes, a local official said Tuesday. The suspected Boko Haram members even left behind explosives that went off the next morning. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)

Muslim men pray for peace and for people who lost their lives during the recent attacks, at a mosque in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday along with local people for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Muslim men pray for peace and for people who lost their lives during the recent attacks, at a mosque in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state’s top politician offered prayers Monday along with local people for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

otorcycle taxis wait for traffic near a market in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, following recent sectarian attacks. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

otorcycle taxis wait for traffic near a market in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, following recent sectarian attacks. The emir of Kano and the state’s top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken on Monday, May 19, 2014. Martha Mark, the mother of kidnapped school girl Monica Mark cries as she display her photo, in the family house, in Chibok, Nigeria. More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Borno on April 14. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the act. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

In this photo taken on Monday, May 19, 2014. Martha Mark, the mother of kidnapped school girl Monica Mark cries as she display her photo, in the family house, in Chibok, Nigeria. More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Borno on April 14. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the act. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Vendors sell local newspapers, with headlines stating the military was alerted four hours before abduction of Government secondary school Chibok girls on a street in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, May 10, 2014. The weakness of the Nigerian armed forces was highlighted Friday in a report which said the military did not respond to warnings that Boko Haram rebels were about to attack Chibok, the town where the young women were abducted from their school. Nigerian security forces had four hours of notice about the April 15 attack by the rebels but did not react because of their fear of engaging the extremists, said Amnesty International, in a report citing multiple interviews with credible sources. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Vendors sell local newspapers, with headlines stating the military was alerted four hours before abduction of Government secondary school Chibok girls on a street in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, May 10, 2014. The weakness of the Nigerian armed forces was highlighted Friday in a report which said the military did not respond to warnings that Boko Haram rebels were about to attack Chibok, the town where the young women were abducted from their school. Nigerian security forces had four hours of notice about the April 15 attack by the rebels but did not react because of their fear of engaging the extremists, said Amnesty International, in a report citing multiple interviews with credible sources. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

French actresses and models pose in front of the Eiffel Tower holding placards saying: Bring back our girls, during a rally at the Trocadero, to show support for the release of the kidnapped girls in Nigeria in Paris, Tuesday May 13, 2014. A French official says Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has agreed to attend a security summit on Saturday in Paris to focus on the Boko Haram terrorist network, which abducted more than 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria last month. Signs center and left read, save the Nigerian schoolgirls. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

French actresses and models pose in front of the Eiffel Tower holding placards saying: Bring back our girls, during a rally at the Trocadero, to show support for the release of the kidnapped girls in Nigeria in Paris, Tuesday May 13, 2014. A French official says Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has agreed to attend a security summit on Saturday in Paris to focus on the Boko Haram terrorist network, which abducted more than 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria last month. Signs center and left read, save the Nigerian schoolgirls. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

Deborah Peter, center, walks with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., left, and, the committee's ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. to a hearing room on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2014, following a news conference. Peter, is a sole survivor of a Dec. 11, 2011, Boko Haram attack on her household in Nigeria, where her father and brother were killed for not renouncing their Christian faith. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Deborah Peter, center, walks with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., left, and, the committee’s ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. to a hearing room on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2014, following a news conference. Peter, is a sole survivor of a Dec. 11, 2011, Boko Haram attack on her household in Nigeria, where her father and brother were killed for not renouncing their Christian faith. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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