The militant group Boko Haram has been blamed for the bombing of a mosque in Nigeria that killed over 100 people. This is the latest in a long string of atrocities that have driven thousands from Nigerian soil, as people flee for their lives in the face of ongoing terror attacks.
The powerful explosion occurred on Friday, when worshippers had come to the mosque for a service, according to the Washington Times . Though Boko Haram has not admitted to being behind the blast, clues point to the militant Islamic group’s involvement. The extremists have been implicated in a number of bombings this year, attacks that have taken the lives of over 1,500 victims.
Though they are a Muslim group, CNN reported that Boko Haram has set its deadly sights against mainstream Islamic institutions in Nigeria. The militants have declared their belief that Islamic leaders in the northern African nation have not adequately defended the faithful. In fact, Boko Haram has accused Nigeria’s religious leaders of teaching a corrupt form of Islam.
Earlier this year, Boko Haram made headlines when it kidnapped over 200 girls from a school in the Nigerian town of Chibok. The Inquisitr reported in November that the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, released a video directed at the parents of the girls, claiming the youths had been converted to Islam. At one point in the video, the Boko Haram head laughed as he said, “The issue of the girls is long forgotten because I have long ago married them off.”
Boko Haram has committed other recent terrorist attacks in its quest to carve out territory in northern Nigeria. In its effort to create its own Islamic state there, they have pushed a growing wave of refugees ahead of them. These refugees predominately seek to escape to neighboring Niger. This past week, Boko Haram killed 50 people in the town of Damassak, and forced 3,000 residents to flee for their lives, according to the Nigerian newspaper Leadership .
In addition, the Inquisitr reported on a Boko Haram attack on a village called Azaya Kura that took the lives of 45 people. Members of the extremist movement flooded into the town around noon on a busy market day. The attack was apparently motivated by revenge, in reprisal for the deaths of four Boko Haram members who had been killed by soldiers in the town.
Do you think nations around the world, including the United States, should do more to help Nigeria fight Boko Haram?
[Image via osbcng.com]
