| Battle of Maiduguri | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Boko Haram insurgency | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Nigeria |  Boko Haram | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Abubakar Shekau | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 200 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2+ injured (per Nigeria) | 24+ killed (per Nigeria) | ||||||
| Dozens of civilians killed | |||||||
On December 2, 2013,Boko Haram militants raided the city ofMaiduguri, attacking theMaiduguri International Airport and several other sites within the city.
Boko Haram emerged in 2009 as a jihadist social and political movement in a failed rebellion in northeast Nigeria.[1] Throughout the following years,Abubakar Shekau unified militant Islamist groups in the region and continued to foment the rebellion against the Nigerian government, conducting terrorist attacks and bombings in cities and communities across the region.[2] Maiduguri, the capital ofBorno State, had been attacked several times by the militants due to being the largest city in northeast Nigeria. In 2009, over 1,000 civilians were killed in Boko Haram attacks on the city.[3]
At 3am on the night between December 1 and 2, 2013, around 200 Boko Haram militants attacked a Nigerian air and ground military base near theMaiduguri Airport.[4] Several other police and military posts in the city were targeted as well.[5] The attackers also set fire to shops and gas stations on the outskirts of the city.[6] Nigerian officials said that at least 24 militants were killed in the attack, along with an unknown number of civilians.[7][8] Three planes and two helicopters were destroyed during fighting at the airport.[7] Two air force personnel were injured as well.[7] Locals reported that bodies were in the streets with their throats slit, and several buildings had been razed by bombings.[5]
Following the battle, the attackers retreated eastward. The Nigerian military then cut off all contact between Maiduguri and the rest of the world for 24 hours, severing telephone lines.[7][9]Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility for the attack on December 12.[10][11]
On January 14, 2014, over thirty people were killed by acar bomb planted by Boko Haram in Maiduguri.[12]