People stand amid the damage at a camp for displaced people after an attack by suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency in Dalori, Nigeria November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Kolawole Adewale

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency killed at least 15 people in an attack on a group of villages in northeast Nigeria late on Wednesday, residents told Reuters.

The villages lie on the outskirts of the militarized city of Maiduguri, the heart of government in the northeast and the headquarters of efforts to defeat Boko Haram and the related Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) insurgency. The conflict has lasted almost a decade.

Despite the Nigerian government’s statements since late 2015 that Boko Haram has been largely defeated, the militancy is still able to attack in and around Maiduguri and throughout much of the northeast.

In the village of Kofa, a Reuters reporter counted five bodies burned inside the remains of their house. A village chief in nearby Dalori said one person in the camp for displaced people had been killed, while two residents of Bulabrin said nine people had died there.

Nigeria’s military said in a statement one civilian was found dead, after Boko Haram had ransacked Dalori’s market, setting buildings ablaze and fleeing when soldiers approached.</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency killed at least 15 people in an attack on a group of villages in northeast Nigeria late on Wednesday, residents told Reuters.

The villages lie on the outskirts of the militarised city of Maiduguri, the heart of government in the northeast and the headquarters of efforts to defeat Boko Haram and the related Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) insurgency. The conflict has lasted almost a decade.

Despite the Nigerian government's statements since late 2015 that Boko Haram has been largely defeated, the militancy is still able to attack in and around Maiduguri and throughout much of the northeast.

In the village of Kofa, a Reuters reporter counted five bodies burned inside the remains of their house. A village chief in nearby Dalori said one person in the camp for displaced people had been killed, while two residents of Bulabrin said nine people had died there.

Nigeria's military said in a statement one civilian was found dead, after Boko Haram had ransacked Dalori's market, setting buildings ablaze and fleeing when soldiers approached. (Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi and Adewale Kolawole in Maiduguri, Writing by Paul Carsten, Editing by Gareth Jones and William Maclean)</s>At least eight people are dead after militants attacked a camp for displaced people in northeast Nigeria.

Witnesses, though, placed the toll higher at 13 dead following the attack on Wednesday night in Maiduguri.

Witnesses said that dozens of attackers overpowered soldiers guarding the Dalori camp around 7pm local time and fighting continued for two hours.

The National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement confirming the attack that eight people had died.

Militants from the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group frequently attack the area and are known for abducting women and girls.

Camp officials said they feared some of the women unaccounted for after the attack had been kidnapped by the gunmen.

The group, whose insurgency began in Maiduguri, wants to establish strict Islamic rule.</s>Nigeria’s Islamist extremist group called Boko Haram are creating conflicts and causing unrest in an attempt to overthrow the government and form an Islamic state. In light of the death of the second humanitarian worker by Boko Haram on October 15th 2018, presented is a brief summary of facts and information regarding the insurgent group.

The full name of the group is Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means:

The group’s headquarters were in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, and they were dubbed Boko Haram in the local Hausa dialect which translates to “Western Education is Forbidden“. Boko Haram’s core beliefs are that Nigeria is governed by non-believers, even if those in politics are Muslim. They also endorse a version of Islam in which partaking in political and social activities related to the West is forbidden.

Boko Haram was formed in 2002 by cleric Mohammed Yusuf as a long-awaited reaction to the Sokoto Caliphate coming under British rule almost 100 years prior. Many Muslims since 1903 had refused to send their children to government-owned “western” state schools. Yusuf formed on an estate in Maiduguri, a religious compound which housed a mosque and an Islamic school, which many poor Nigerian Muslims sent their children to. Boko Haram also had political plans to form an Islamic state, and this school became a fundamental pillar in the recruiting and training of jihadis.

In 2013 Boko Haram was declared a militant terrorist organisation by the US in fears it had formed connections to the Maghreb al-Qaeda.

Nigerian troops and vigilante groups applied pressure on Boko Haram which forced the group to flee Maiduguri to the Sambisa forest close to the Cameroon border. From this new base, the group launched a series of attacks on towns and villages, abducting women and children and coercively recruiting men to join their army.

In April 2014, Boko Haram finally caught widespread international attention when they carried out the abduction of 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno state.

The group also began to keep hold of the villages and towns they attacked as opposed to their previous routine of retreating. Eventually, in August 2014 Shekau declared a Caliphate in the territories under Boko Haram control, making Gwoza the centre. Boko Haram later pledged allegiance to ISIS, severing ties to Al-Qaeda.

By March 2015, Boko Haram had lost all of its towns after a union of troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger were tasked with fighting the group. They once again fled to the Sambisa forest and hundreds of captives were freed.

In March 2018, Boko Haram abducted International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) members demanding for the freedom of their captives in return for the aid workers. Two of the workers have been executed, the latest being Hauwa Leman on October 15th 2018.

Since Boko Haram’s campaign began in 2009 to create an Islamic state, 20,000 people have died and two million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The process of completely ending the rampage of Boko Haram still has a long way to go despite Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari claiming them to be “technically defeated“. With Nigeria’s chronic poverty and low level of education rates, the population is increasingly susceptible to being enticed by extremist ideology.</s>At least 12 civilians were killed in multiple Boko Haram jihadist attacks targeting two villages and a camp for those displaced by the bloody conflict in northeastern Nigeria, civilian militia and residents told AFP Thursday.

Jihadists in seven trucks late on Wednesday attacked Bulaburin and Kofa villages as well as a camp in Dalori village outside the Borno state capital of Maiduguri.

"The terrorists attacked and completely burnt Bulaburin and Kofa villages and burnt half the Dalori two IDP (internally displaced persons) camp," militia leader Babakura Kolo told AFP.

"They killed nine people in Bulaburin, two people in Dalori, and one in Kofa and looted food supplies before setting them on fire," Kolo said.

The attack was launched in Kofa where the jihadists opened fire indiscriminately and killed one person as residents fled, said Kofa resident Musa Goni.

"They then moved to nearby Bulaburin where they gunned down nine people and burnt the village after stealing food," Goni said.

At Dalori 2 IDP camp, which houses 10,000 homeless people, the jihadists engaged troops and civilian militia guarding the camp in a shootout before overrunning the makeshift facility, civilian militia camp member Solomon Adamu said.

"When the Boko Haram gunmen came they stopped on the road overlooking the camp and started firing," said Adamu who took part in the fight.

"Soldiers and civilian JTF (militia) at the gate engaged them in gunfight but were forced to withdraw into the camp because we were out gunned," he said.

Residents were forced to flee nd two were killed while several were injured, according to Adamu.

The jihadists invaded the camp after overrunning troops and the militia and "burnt half the camp" by setting fires and firing rocket-propelled grenades on buildings.

"One grenade didn't explode and is still lying in the camp, waiting for bomb disposal units to evacuate it," Adamu said.

The area has been attacked multiple times before by the Boko Haram faction loyal to Abubakar Shekau.

Dalori, which is about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Maiduguri, houses about 50,000 people in makeshift camps.

In June 2017, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at the camp. The attack injured several residents but killed only the bombers.

It followed a separate attack at nearby Kofa village, where female suicide bombers exploded and killed at least 16 people.

In January 2016, at least 85 people were killed when militant fighters stormed and torched Dalori village and tried to gain access to the camps.

Despite government insistence that Boko Haram jihadists are near defeat, Nigeria is still hit by heavy fighting.

The conflict has claimed more than 27,000 lives since 2009 and nearly two million people still cannot return to their homes in the Lake Chad region.

In recent months, Boko Haram has carried out major attacks on military targets, killing dozens.</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency killed at least 15 people in an attack on a group of villages in northeast Nigeria late on Wednesday, residents told Reuters.

A Reuters reporter counted five bodies burned inside the remains of their house in the village of Kofa, while a village chief in nearby Dalori said one person had been killed and two residents of Bulabrin said nine people had died there. (Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi and Adewale Kolawole in Maiduguri Writing by Paul Carsten Editing by Gareth Jones)</s>Boko Haram terrorist, numbering over 200 have, Wednesday evening, attacked some villages near Maiduguri, Borno state and killed no fewer than 15 persons.....Read more via Vanguard News Nigeria – https://ift.tt/2DibL15 Get More Nigeria Metro News</s>Boko Haram insurgents have killed 13 people and sacked two villages overnight in the restive town of Konduga in Borno,

Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu, the Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, confirmed the attack on Thursday in Maiduguri.

Biu said, however, that troops rose to the occasion and repelled the invaders, who had repeatedly attacked communities in the Konduga Local Government Area over the years.

He disclosed that he had visited the attacked communities, Bularin and Kofa, including camps in the communities, housing thousands of displaced people.

“I was there. We recovered one dead body and saw burnt houses. Troops have been following up on the attackers,” said Biu.

Alfred Audu, a member of a militia, known as Civilian Joint Task Force, who claimed he was on duty at the time of the attack, said the insurgents engaged troops in a bid to force their way into the communities.

Audu said the insurgents were pushed back when fighter planes were deployed to confront the invaders.

Another eye-witness, who gave his name simply as Alhaji Modu, said that hundreds of the insurgents on trucks with mounted guns and motorcycles, attacked the communities at about 7:45 p.m.

Modu said the insurgents launched rocket attacks and forced their way into the IDP camps and also attacked homes with ferocious fire.

He said that nine people were killed at Bularin IDP Camp and three others in the Kofa IDP Camp.

“An Islamic cleric together with his wife and three children were burnt to death when the insurgents sacked their home at Bularin IDP Camp.

“They burnt down the village market, shops, houses, animals and vehicles. Many people died in the attack while others are still missing.

“Bularin village was razed and several tents in the camp destroyed. Many people were displaced in the attack,” Modu said.

Boko Haram, which also operates in Cameroon, Chad and Niger has persistently attacked communities in northern Nigeria, especially the country’s vast northeast.

The Federal Government has however, said that the insurgents have been decimated, although the group has been pulling deadly punches over the years.

Boko Haram launched its deadly campaign in 2009, vowing to enthrone a strict Islamic code in Africa’s most populous nation</s>An Imam was set ablaze, while no less than 14 other people were killed after some suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorist group attacked some villages close to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital......Read more via 360Nobs – https://ift.tt/2DgHVKg Get More Nigeria Metro News</s>One person was killed, according to the Nigerian Army, when Boko Haram terrorists carried out an attack in Kofa village and Dalori internally displaced person's (IDP) camp in Borno State on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

According to a brief statement by the Army, the attack took place around 10 pm on Wednesday after terrorists gained access through a bush path behind the village in 4 vehicles and some motorcycles.

"They ransacked the market in front of the IDP camp," the statement read.

The Army further said that the attack was foiled by troops of 251 Task Force Battalion, but not before the terrorists set some houses and the market on fire and fled along the Maiduguri-Bama Road.

It's unclear how the civilian casualty of the attack died.
Boko Haram militants kill at least 15 people in a village on the outskirts of Maiduguri, in northeast Nigeria.