How Do Terror Groups Finance Their Operations?

On the evening of Tuesday, the 3rd of February, hundreds of attackers from the terrorist group Boko Haram descended on two Nigerian villages, Waro and Nuku. For weeks, the group had sent letters to the villagers, first informing the leadership that they would be coming to preach their version of Sharia law.

Then, when the village leaders asked for soldiers to be deployed, they sent warning letters containing exactly what you would expect a warning letter from a jihadist group to contain.

When the soldiers were eventually withdrawn, Boko Haram struck, sending hundreds of fighters carrying everything from AK-47s to explosives and even pump-handled shotguns. Then, the killing began. Over the next few hours, houses were burned, passing cars attacked, and between 100 and 200 villagers were killed.