On the heels of previous successes, Boko Haram is trying to take a Nigerian state capital:
Boko Haram fighters on Sunday launched a fresh attempt to take over the strategically crucial northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, a brazen attack on a state capital just two weeks before national elections.
Take that and Bokko Haram has their own caliphate capital.
So far, Nigerian forces are holding. But just being in the position of defending a state capital from Boko Haram capture is a defeat for Nigeria.
This is what happens when you fail to atomize your insurgent/terrorist enemy and they are able to mass forces.
And the city--swelled to 2 million people with refugees from earlier losses to Boko Haram--must be held just to avoid a humanitarian disaster.
If Boko Haram has the reputation of being the "strong horse" there, how much more will Nigeria lose in the north?
