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 neighbors 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.

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