Deadly Boko Haram Raid, 185 Women And Children Abducted, 32 Killed

Local officials and residents have reported that the Nigerian Islamic terrorist organization, Boko Haram, has launched it’s latest attack against northeastern Nigeria this week in Borno state.

On Sunday, December 14, the raid was perpetrated by gunmen that drove into the village of Gumsuri from two directions. The armed men opened fire on the residents, killing a reported 32 men before herding women and children together. The number of kidnapped victims is estimated to be 185.

Mukhtar Buba, a resident of the village who escaped to Maiduguri, told the Nigerian Daily Post that, “After killing our youths, the insurgents have taken away our wives and daughters.”

Information took nearly four days to reach the outside world because telecommunication towers had been attacked in previous raids by the terrorist group. Officials only heard of the invasion by Boko Haram from fleeing residents after they reached Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Earlier this month, the Inquisitr reported the terrorist group executed a similar raid in Lassa, another small village in the region, taking 20 young girls and killing many of the residents.

Boko Haram, meaning “Western education is forbidden,” gained widespread notoriety in April of this year when 230 school girls were kidnapped from Chibok Government Secondary School, but the group has been active for years.

Since early 2009, Boko Haram has kept the region in its grip through bombings, raids, and kidnappings. Earlier this week, the Inquisitr also reported that two teenage girls were used as suicide bombers to attack a crowded market in Kano State, killing five people. Last month, suicide bombings claimed the life nearly 180 people, some of which were worshipers at a nearby mosque.

According to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report released in June, more than 5,000 people have been killed by Boko Haram directly or through attack-related incidents. This number ranks the militant group as one of the most active and dangerous in the world. It is not just those directly targeted by the terrorists that have been effected by their attacks. The Nigerian government estimates more than 300,000 people have been forced to flee the region to escape the danger. This mass exodus of refugees has placed considerable strain on surrounding regions as they are attempting to accommodate the influx of people.

In that same report, it is stated that the reason for Boko Haram’s continually increasing threat to the area is due to a lack of pointed response from the Nigerian Government. It reads that “security sector corruption and mismanagement” are to blame. The United States has expressed its support of the Nigerian government, but has not yet participated in efforts to recover the kidnapped victims or to counter-attack the militant group.

To date, none of the of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram’ have been recovered.

[Image courtesy of theTelegraph]