ICC Note: The Islamic radicals targeted a group of refugees that was preparing to return to their villages after being displaced by the same terrorist group. Even though Boko Haram is split into two groups since last year, the jihadists have stepped up their attack since the beginning of this year, 2017. Towards the end of 2016, Boko Haram’s new leader promised to stop attacks against Muslims, but he threatened to bomb churches and persecute Christians as part of their jihad.
02/17/2017, Nigeria (Reuters) – Seven suspected Boko Haram militants blew themselves on the outskirts of a northeast Nigerian city on Friday, a local aid agency said, in an attack witnesses said targeted refugees preparing to return to their home villages.
The bombing took place outside Maiduguri, the population center at the heart of a government campaign to eradicate the Islamist group, whose more than seven-year insurgency has killed 15,000 people and forced some two million from their homes.
The Borno State Emergency Management Agency said eight members of a local militia, the civilian Joint Task Force, were wounded in the attack, which underscored Boko Haram’s ability to continue to operate despite the government’s insistence it has crushed the group.
Witnesses told Reuters the attackers detonated their bombs
near a large refugee camp, outside which crowds of displaced people were gathering around trucks to form convoys before trying to return home.
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