DecodeDC

Actions

Boko Haram cuts a destructive path across Nigeria

Posted at 5:13 PM, Jan 28, 2015
and last updated 2015-01-29 10:35:16-05

The DecodeDC weekly podcast -- out Thursday afternoon -- will focus on a vexing question: What is America's role when it comes to dealing with a violent Islamic group in Nigeria? 

The group is Boko Haram, and you might remember that name from this past spring. Members of the sect kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls, setting off international outrage in the form of protests and and tweets with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

More recently, the group was back in the news after Amnesty International released satellite images that showed just how much destruction Boko Haram wreaked in a bombing campaign near Nigeria's northeastern border with Chad. Hundreds of people died, and thousands of homes, offices and other structures were destroyed. 

Before these high-profile activities, Boko Haram had a nearly 15-year history in the region.

Click on the photo below and then use the right arrows to trace the group's destructive path across Nigeria since its founding in the early 2000s.