A screengrab taken on May 12, 2014, from a video of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram obtained by AFP shows girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location. Boko Haram released a new video on claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed. A total of 276 girls were abducted on April 14 from the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. Some 223 are still missing. AFP PHOTO / BOKO HARAM RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / BOKO HARAM" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSHO/AFP/Getty Images
Boko Haram: What you need to know
01:57 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

25 dead in Boko Haram attack on 3 villages

Gunmen storm villages on motorcycles

Kano, Nigeria CNN  — 

A bloody and terrifying raid by Boko Haram on Friday left at least 25 people dead in three villages in eastern Nigeria’s Adamawa state, according to residents and a local government official. Adamawa state borders Borno state, Boko Haram’s birth place and main stronghold.

Storming in on motorcycles, the gunmen attacked the neighboring villages of Kopa, Maikadire and Yaffa around 9 a.m. local time, shooting and killing residents, according to witnesses and local government chairman Maina Ularamu.

Gunmen are former village residents

The gunmen are former residents who joined Boko Haram and left to live in Boko Haram camps, according to Ularamu and the village residents. After the Nigerian military launched a campaign of bombing raids and ground assaults on their camps, those Boko Haram militants sought to escape by returning to their villages.

Villagers tipped off military authorities and the returnees were arrested.

Friday’s attacks were retaliation against those villages, according to witnesses and the government chairman.

Boko Haram

Founded 12 years ago by charismatic cleric, Mohammed Yusuf, Boko Haram calls for a pure Islamic state in Nigeria. Yusuf was killed by police in 2009 and many say his death made Boko Haram even more violent and defiant.

Abubakar Shekau took control of the group and ramped up the attacks. Murders and kidnappings of Westerners became a Boko Haram signature. Under Shekau the group also began a bombing campaign that targets churches, mosques and government buildings.

Boko Haram translates to “Western education is a sin” in the local Hausa language. The militant group says it wants stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

Boko Haram’s attacks have escalated in recent years in an apparent effort to destroy the Nigerian government.

Samira Said, CNN