The Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacked and seized the town where it kidnapped more than 200 girls in April, officials said Friday. The militant group returned to Chibok and launched a deadly assault to overrun the town on Thursday night, Borno State Senator Ahmed Zanna told NBC News. The kidnap of the girls sparked a global campaign centered around the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, but attempts to rescue them have proved fruitless.
Boko Haram has already overrun swaths of Nigeria's northeast and conducted countless attacks and kidnappings in its bid to establish an Islamic state. In addition to seizing Chibok, the militants also attacked and overran the towns of Hong and Gombi in neighboring Adamawa state on Thursday, Zanna said by telephone. "There were many killings but it is impossible to say how many at this stage," he said. The attacks were first reported in the Nigerian press and by the AFP news agency.
IN-DEPTH
- #BringBackOurGirls Victims Were Married Off: Boko Haram
- Raped and Enslaved: Boko Haram Victims Recount Horrors
- Boko Haram Kidnaps Dozens More Young Girls
