Boko Haram is a Salafist jihadi Islamic extremist organization with origins in the West African country of Nigeria . The group 's primary goal is the takeover of the Nigerian government in order to establish a theocracy under strict Islamic law . While Boko Haram participate in a wide range of terrorist activities including suicide bombings , and massacres , the group is widely known for the kidnapping of women and young girls , most notably the Chibok kidnappings . Due to an ever-increasing amount of activity in and outside the borders of Nigeria , Boko Haram was officially designated as an international terrorist organization by the United States . In 2015 , Boko Haram declared its allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant . The group was accepted as a member of the wider caliphate by official decree of the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
massacres
2013 Baga massacre
2015 Chad suicide bombings