The Islamic State West Africa (ISWA), which is formerly known as Boko Haram, killed more than 20 people in a double suicide attack at a mosque in northern Nigeria. Both suicide bombers were women. ISWA has used women in 105 suicide attacks in Nigeria and neighboring countries since June 2014, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal.
Today’s suicide bombings took place in the village of Ummarari near the city of Maiduguri in northern Nigeria, where ISWA’s insurgency has raged for more than a half a decade. According to the Nigerian Army, the first female suicide bomber entered a mosque and detonated her explosives. The second suicide bomber triggered her bomb about 50 meters outside of the mosque just minutes after the first explosion, Vanguard reported.
The second suicide attack likely was targeting first responders rendering aid to those wounded in the initial blast. This is a tactic that is frequently used by jihadist groups, including the Islamic State and al Qaeda, throughout the world. Officials said that 22 people were killed and 18 more were wounded in the suicide assault.
ISWA suicide bombers have targeted a wide range of civilian targets that includes mosques, schools, refugee camps, markets, and government buildings, as well as military installations and security checkpoints.
Despite a coordinated military offensive by Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon – which has targeted ISWA strongholds in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region – the jihadist group has maintained the ability to launch coordinated attacks and assaults throughout the region. Many of these include the use of women and/or girls as suicide bombers.
According to data compiled by The Long War Journal, ISWA has utilized at least 105 women and girls as suicide bombers in Nigeria, Cameroon, and in Chad since June 2014.
The majority of the suicide attacks involving women have occurred in Nigeria. At least 11 have occurred in neighboring Cameroon, though, and three or more took place in southern Chad in the Lake Chad region.
The ISWA’s deployment of women and girls as suicide bombers is a common tactic in Nigeria over the past two years. The group’s first known instance of using a female suicide bomber was on June 8, 2014, when a middle-aged woman on a motorcycle detonated near a Nigerian military barracks in Gombe, killing one policeman. In one of the deadliest attacks, on Nov. 27, 2014, two women killed 78 people and wounded scores more at a market in Maiduguri.
The use of women make it easier for jihadist groups to carry out suicide attacks, as explosives are often easier to hide, and men are less likely to search women due to cultural sensitivities. The ages of the bombers have ranged from just nine-years-old to middle-aged. Many of the women and girls used in these bombings are likely forced into committing the attacks, however, some could be the widows or daughters of killed fighters. In Russia’s southern Caucasus region, several widows of killed fighters, dubbed “Black Widows,” have conducted various suicide bombings in the region. Despite efforts by regional countries to make it harder for ISWA to use females, like the banning of the niqab (face veil), the jihadist group will likely continue to exploit females in its attacks in West Africa.
from Long War Journal – The Long War Journal http://ift.tt/1M7GUTU
via Defense News
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