Boko Haram launches deadly attack

Boko Haram militants launched a multi-pronged, coordinated attack on the city of Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria today, killing at least 50 people and injuring dozens more.

Extremists from the Islamist terror group deployed suicide bombers and used rocket-propelled grenades to attack the city of nearly 1 million people that already hosts thousands of refugees from Boko Haram attacks on the surrounding region.

On the same day, two female suicide bombers struck a market in Madagali, some 150 miles south of Maiduguri, killing at least 30 people. News of female suicide bombers often carries another tragic possibility. In the past, Boko Haram militants have used women and girls they’ve abducted to carry out such attacks.

The killings on Monday came three days before Nigerian officials’ self-imposed deadline to defeat Boko Haram. President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to stamp out the terrorist organization by the end of the year. Last week, Buhari proclaimed the government already had “technically defeated” Boko Haram.

Though Nigerian troops have made significant advances against the militants in recent months, the terrorists have showcased their ability to continue to execute deadly attacks. Their guerrilla-style ambushes have proven difficult to predict or thwart, and militants have adapted to limited resources. In some cases, the terrorists have attacked villages on horseback or bicycles.

On the night of Dec. 25, as many Nigerians were giving thanks for a rare, violence-free Christmas, a group of Boko Haram militants stormed a village near the northeastern city of Biu. The terrorists killed at least 14 people and reportedly abducted eight villagers during the late-night raid.

Christmas Day raids have become a grim expectation in Nigeria’s northeast corridor but also have extended farther south. In 2012, Boko Haram militants detonated a car bomb outside a Catholic church near the capital city of Abuja. The attack killed 37 people.

This year’s Christmas Day attack followed a brutal pattern: After attacking sleeping villagers, the militants burned the village to the ground. Residents fled to a nearby city seeking refuge.

During the last six years, Boko Haram militants have killed at least 17,000 people and driven more than 2 million from their homes. They’ve also pledged allegiance to Islamic State terrorists wreaking havoc across the Middle East.