Boko Haram

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Boko Haram activity in Nigeria

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Boko Haram: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jun 09, 2025

News •

Nigerian Catholic priest who had recently served in the US abducted by extremists, church says • June 9, 2025, 9:12 AM ET (AP)

Boko Haram's resurgence: Why Nigeria's military is struggling to hold the line • May 26, 2025, 5:33 PM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	ISWA • ISWAP • Jamāʿat Ahl al-Sunna lil-Daʿawah wa al-Jihād • Islamic State’s West African Province • Islamic State in West Africa
Date	2002 - present
Areas Of Involvement	sharia • terrorism

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Boko Haram activity in Nigeria

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Topics

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria Ku Klux Klan al-Qaeda al-Shabaab Kurdistan Workers’ Party Red Army Faction Tamil Tigers Abu Sayyaf Group Lashkar-e-Taiba Shining Path

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Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army

8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century