The following combat footage was filmed during the ongoing fight being carried out by the Nigerian military against the Boko Haram insurgency. It shows an isolated and surrounded Boko Haram terrorist being circled by Nigerian soldiers in two armored personnel carriers before one quickly drives over the terrorist and violently crushes him. The footage is NSFW on Reddit, so click the screen in order to play.
The video is symbolic of the hatred against the terror group that has been waging a ruthless insurgency in Nigeria since 2009. In recent years, the terror group gained worldwide attention when it became an affiliate of the Islamic State. The group’s attacks gained notoriety in their scale and brutality. One of the most shocking was the mass kidnap of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls. Although fifty escaped, many were sold into slavery and subjected to horrific sexual abuse and torture.
The Meaning of Boko Haram
Boko Haram is the commonly used term to describe the Islamic State in West Africa. The meaning of Boko Haram is “Western education is forbidden”. The Jihadist terror group is largely based in the Northeastern regions of Nigeria. However, they have also been operational in other African states such as Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.
The group was originally set up in 2002 by a man named Mohammed Yusuf and originally declared itself as non-violent with the intention of enabling a pure form of Islam in Northern Nigeria. However, the group became increasingly radicalized and attracted the attention of the Nigerian security forces who began launching an operation to disperse the group. By 2009, a violent conflict erupted between Yusuf’s followers and Nigerian security forces. Known as the Boko Haram uprising, it killed over 1,000 people and is regarded as the trigger of the insurgency that is still ongoing.
The group began launching increasingly sophisticated terrorist attacks that saw Nigerian security forces subjected to gun and bomb attacks. As the group progressed in their violence, they began to widen their target range by including western institutions such as the headquarters of the United Nations in the Nigerian city of Abuja. In 2014, the terror group murdered over 6,500 people as well as carrying out kidnappings such as the schoolgirls previously mentioned. Such a talent for violent carnage brought them to the attention of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our collective will”
– Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari
Similar to the rise of ISIS at the same era, In mid-2014, Boko Haram controlled territory that stretched an estimated 20,000 square miles (50,000 square kilometers). In the Spring of 2015, the group became aligned with ISIS and rebranded themselves as the Islamic State in West Africa. Their ongoing insurgency continued to slaughter thousands. Additionally, it has forced well over a quarter of a million people to flee their homes into neighboring African countries. Thus destabilizing the region even further.
In 2019, the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari boldly stated that Boko Haram was “technically defeated”. However, this was a statement full of holes. The security situation in Nigeria and the wider region is still critical as a result of the terror group. The terror group’s attacks have simply escalated and it still poses a major threat as of 2020. The latest Boko Haram attack was in september of this year when a government convoy came under a sustained attack leaving several dead.
The Reaper Feed combat footage sector functions as a library and resource base for combat footage captured in various conflict zones around the world. It is in no way intended to glorify violence, war, or any of the armed groups depicted in the videos. It is strictly educational.
