5 most deadly terror attacks in the name of Jihad in recent months

'Jihad' is an Islamic term referring to the religious duty of Muslims to maintain the religion, which is often translated as "Holy War". Jihadism is a 21st-century neologism found in the Western languages. It perceives movements of Islamist militant as a military movement "rooted in Islam" and "existentially threatening" to the World.

We give you five destructive attacks by such jihadists, who in the name of jihad performed brutal killings and shook the world in recent times:

• 2016 Nigeria massacre

Nigeria very recently witnessed one of the most atrocious massacres to date when the radical Islamist terror group Boko Haram entered the Dalori village of northeast Nigeria, slaughtering villagers and burning several children alive.

Vice Chairman of a civilian joint task force, Modu Kaka, said that at least 100 dead bodies were taken away but that hundreds of them are still missing.

A villager, witness to such heinous act spoke of "scores of bodies" burned and lanced with bullets lying in the streets. One man, who managed to escape by hiding in a tree, said that he could hear the wails of children screaming in the flames.

• 2016 Pathankot attack

On 2 January 2016, the Pathankot Air Force Station came under attack after a heavily armed group entered the base area, disguised as army men.

Media reports suggested the main purpose of the attack was to derail Indo-Pak peace process, meant to stabilise flaky relations between them. Further pieces of evidence found the attackers' direct link to Pakistan.

The gun battle and the subsequent combing operation lasted about 17 hours and resulted in total seven fatalities; seven army personnel and one civilian. The army's counterattack resulted in the death of total six attackers.

• January 2016 Afghanistan attack on Indian consulate

Happening synchronously with the January Pathankot attack, the Indian consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan saw the killing of four policemen on January 3. The attackers are alleged to be Pakistan army men, as confirmed by a senior Afghan police officer.

Sayed Kamal Sadat, police chief of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, said the attackers, "officers from across the border were well-trained military men who fought Afghan security forces in the 25-hour siege."

• Bacha Khan University attack

One of the most recent attacks by the jihadists, the invasion took place in the morning of January 20 when four gunmen took advantage of the winter's fog to enter into the campus' premises.

The incident killed 20 students and two teachers, and wounded nearly two dozen others. Several students exclaimed the toll could have been much higher if it were not for a school teacher armed with a pistol, who briefly held off the attackers before being killed.

The Tariq Geedar Afridi faction of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, although the main spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan later denied and condemned the assault.

"When you hit students and kids, the pain is more," said retired Pakistani army general, Saad Muhammad. "Terrorists hate" schools, Muhammad added, "because they say this is Western education and it's un-Islamic."

• November 2015 Paris attacks

The attack consisted of suicide bombings and open fire at soccer matches, restaurants, bars and a café. It officially started on November 13, with three suicide bombings in a France-Germany soccer match at State de France, ending on an open fire at a concert venue with taking people hostage and methodically shooting them.

The attackers killed 137 victims and injured between 352 and 368, with 80 taken to hospital in serious condition.