LAGOS -- The Nigerian terror group Boko Haram, after some much heralded reversals on the battlefield, has made a dangerous comeback, unleashing female suicide bombers, carrying out a series of deadly attacks, and seizing a highly strategic town.
Having fled the larger part of their stronghold in Sambisa forest, the sect's soldiers regrouped in Marte, a town 112 kilometers north of Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's embattled northeastern Borno state. Although government officials say Marte was seized last Friday, local sources have confirmed that the militants began to occupy the town at the end of April.
"They [Boko Haram] have been in Marte for a long time strategizing," said a local community member. "They came in large numbers last month, but more members recently joined following the offensive in Sambisa forest by the military."
This is the fourth time Boko Haram has seized control of Marte, a key battleground for their six-year insurgency. The town is among several retaken in recent weeks by Nigeria's military. Sources said on Saturday that the insurgents have hoisted their flags on the recaptured territory, and have been coordinating attacks from there.
All this comes amid reports that Boko Haram may be receiving training from the self-proclaimed Islamic State, widely known as ISIS, which operates in Iraq and Syria. A group called the Mosul Youth Resistance Movement, apparently formed to fight ISIS in and around the major Iraqi city it conquered almost a year ago, killed five Boko Haram members there, according to the Iraqi Kurdish website BasNews. Saed Mamuzini, spokesperson for the Kurdish Democratic Party is quoted saying, "The Nigerian Boko Haram militants were in Mosul to take part in a military training course conducted by Islamic State."