Boko Haram appears to be modeling itself after ISIS by operating more like a military and seizing and holding ground.

Via TIME:

Boko Haram, the Nigerian terrorist group who sprang to international notoriety after kidnapping 200 schoolgirls in April this year, have seized an area of land the size of Ireland, and are now taking inspiration from Islamic State, who have swept across the Middle East, capturing large parts of Iraq and Syria, say experts.

In a July video, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau paid tribute to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who in late June declared himself “the caliph” and “leader of Muslims everywhere”. A month later, Shekau declared that he would rule the land annexed by Boko Haram as a caliphate.

Now, emboldened by the success of Isis, experts say Boko Haram is beginning to operate like a conventional army in north-eastern Nigeria. The group has recently moved from guerilla tactics – car bombs and kidnappings – towards a policy of taking and holding tracts of land.

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Andrew Noakes, co-ordinator of the Nigeria Security Network, a coalition of security experts and academics, told Newsweek: “Boko Haram are almost certainly receiving inspiration from ISIS. The way they’ve been operating in the last few weeks – engaging the army in direct and sustained combat, rapidly advancing, seizing and holding territory – is very reminiscent of ISIS.

On Monday, the secretary to the Borno state government admitted that Borno – an area the size of Ireland – has been brought to a standstill by the Islamist group. “At this very moment, most parts of Borno state are being occupied by Boko Haram insurgents. Government presence and administration is minimal or non-existent across many parts of the state… Most settlements in the affected areas in the state have either been deserted or access to them is practically impossible”.