Boko Haram – a jihadist group whose name literally translates to “Western education is sinful” – is suspected of being behind the mass murder of at least 40 students in north-east Nigeria. The university-aged students were asleep in their dormitories when the massacre began:

Islamist insurgents have shot dead at least 40 students who were sleeping in their college dormitory in north-east Nigeria. All of the dead are said to have been students of the College of Agriculture in the town of Gujba, some 30 kilometres from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state… An official at the Damaturu Specialist Hospital, who requested anonymity, said 40 bodies, all of whom appeared to be of university student age, had been received from Gujba so far.

Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people – many of them students – since launching an insurgency four years ago. Another night-time dormitory attack by the group in July killed 41 students. Another July attack involved murdering 29 students and a teacher, with some of the victims being burned alive. This week’s attack was similarly gruesome:

Wailing relatives gathered outside the hospital morgue, where workers laid out bloody bodies in an orderly row on the lawn for family members to identify loved ones. One body had its fists clenched to the chest in a protective gesture. Another had hands clasped under the chin, as if in prayer. A third had arms raised in surrender.

Nigerian authorities over the summer launched a concentrated campaign seeking to uproot Boko Haram and its infrastructure. U.S. officials believe that the group coordinates with Al Qaeda, and President Barack Obama has called it out as one of the world’s most vicious terrorist groups.

[Photo: TVonline / YouTube]