Boko Haram Attack Kills 15 Civilians Ahead of Presidential Campaign Rally In Nigeria

At least 15 civilians were killed by fighters of the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram near the capital of Nigeria's embattled Borno state on the eve of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's re-election campaign rally.

"The terrorists attacked Kambari village which is less than five kilometers to Maiduguri around 5 a.m. They killed 15 people and set the entire hamlet ablaze," a Nigerian official said.

The northeastern city of Maiduguri itself has repeated seen attacks from Boko Haram, which is believed to have killed over 13,000 people since 2009 in an effort to establish its own state in Nigeria.

Addressing the people in his campaign rally, Jonathan promised to stop Boko Haram and to establish peace in the Borno state.

"I am promising the whole of you that we shall surely end this insurgency," Jonathan said at the rally.

Jonathan, who is up for re-election in the upcoming Feb. 14 polls, visited Maiduguri on Jan. 15, his first stop there since March 2013. The trip was shrouded in secrecy, Al Jazeera reported.

Jonathan, a southern Christian, faces a tough challenge from former military ruler Mohammadu Buhari, a Muslim.

Large swathes of land in the Borno State, as well as in neighboring Adamawa and Yobe, are believed to be under control of the Islamists.

On Jan. 4, Boko Haram militants captured the town of Baga in Borno State, reportedly killing an estimate of 2,000 people who were mostly elders, women and children who cannot run fast enough to escape the carnage.

Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri in 2002 and remained largely peaceful until a police and military crackdown against its then-leader Mohammed Yusuf and his followers in 2009, Al Jazeera said.