Boko Haram in Brief

Boko Haram ("Western education is forbidden"), officially called Wilāyat al Sūdān al Gharbī (Arabic: ولاية السودان الغربي‎, (Islamic State's) West Africa Province, ISWAP), and formerly called Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād' (Arabic: جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد‎, "Group of the People of Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad")

Active	2002–present

Ideology	Wahhabism Salafism Islamic fundamentalism

Leaders	Mohammed Yusuf (founder) Abubakar Shekau (current leader)

Headquarters	Gwoza, Nigeria (until March 2015) Sambisa Forest, Nigeria (March 2015–present

Area of operations	Northeast Nigeria, Northern Cameroon, Niger, Chad

Strength	7,000–10,000

Part of	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

• Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009
• Joined Islamic State, now calls itself "West African province"
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria, abducted hundreds, including at least 200 schoolgirls
• Seized large area in north-east, where it declared caliphate
• Regional force has retaken most territory this year
• But suicide attacks have increasde May 2015