Terrorist Group Boko Haram Uses Female Suicide Bombers as Weapons

Authorities in northern Nigeria said that a woman exploded a bomb while holding a newborn over the weekend, killing the mother and child as well as six others. This incident ended a brief respite from the violence that has afflicted the area for more than ten years.

Despite the lack of a specific group claiming responsibility, the assault has a resemblance to those of Boko Haram, an Islamist movement that has been responsible for nearly two million people’s relocation and tens of thousands of fatalities in the region through suicide bombs. Following the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in 2014, Boko Haram gained widespread media attention.

Vice President Kashim Shettima reported that in Borno State, Nigeria, the woman was one of two female suicide bombers who carried out attacks that killed 32 people and injured scores more. The assaults, according to experts, showed how women can play a complicated and lethal role in terrorist insurgencies such as Boko Haram.

A burial ceremony for the victims of the earlier explosion, a place near a hospital, and a wedding party were the three venues hit by the assailants, according to Barkindo Saidu, the director general of Borno State’s emergency management agency. The city of Gwoza, which was under Boko Haram’s control for fifteen years before the raids, was the site of the clashes.

According to analysts, armed organizations frequently recruit female members to carry out suicide bombings because they view them as less valued members of the organization and as having more tactical advantages.

Professor Mia Bloom of Georgia State University has spoken with several Boko Haram survivors and warned that some organizations saw women as easier prey. She said that many of the female suicide bombers may be really radicalized; others think they would rather be a bomber than marry a Boko fighter.

Female suicide bombers have been utilized by terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, and the Taliban; however, Boko Haram has used them more frequently compared to other groups.