Suicide attacks and deaths attributed to the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram have been increasing over the first half of 2017. The group has shifted its strategy to rely heavily on suicide bombers hitting marketplaces and other soft targets in Nigeria and surrounding countries.
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"Haram is not a conventional organization like, say, ISIS. Boko Haram has indicated no particular interest in state building...It doesn’t want to recreate the Nigerian state. It wants to destroy the Nigerian state."
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"The Nigerian military made great headway against [Boko Haram] and retook some territory, but the issue has been holding that territory since then. We’ve seen a real unwillingness or inability on the Nigerian government’s part to deploy police and soldiers and really hold territory outside of urban centers."