Who are Boko Haram?

Boko Haram loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden"

• Founded in 2002
• Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
• Some three million people affected
• Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
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  Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram - which has caused havoc in Africa's most populous country through a wave of bombings, assassinations and now abductions - is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
  Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors".
  Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
  This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
  Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.
  
  Boko Haram has attacked many schools in northern Nigeria
  The group launched its insurgency in 2009
  It has targeted both civilians and the military
  The group's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad".
  Recruiting ground But residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters, dubbed it Boko Haram.
  Loosely translated from the region's Hausa language, this means "Western education is forbidden".
  Boko originally meant fake but came to signify Western education, while haram means forbidden.
  
  
  Boko Haram at a glance