- Infra-red satellite images show destruction of 'densely populated' towns
- One witness says terrorists shot and killed a woman who was in labour
- Estimated 2,500 people killed, and more than 3,700 structures were razed
- Extremist group, Boko Haram, decimated towns of Baga and Doron Baga
- One of the towns 'nearly wiped off the map', says Amnesty International
- Survivors describe fleeing over dead bodies of people 'killed like insects'
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
The destruction wreaked by Islamist militants in Nigeria when they slaughtered an estimated 2,500 people including a woman while she was in labour has been revealed in shocking new satellite images.
Terror group Boko Haram outraged the world last week when they indiscriminately murdered innocent men, women and children as they attacked the towns of Baga and Doron Baga.
Now, new images obtained by Amnesty International show how the towns were devastated by the assault - with more than 3,700 structures including houses and schools completely destroyed.
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Before: Infra-red images show the densely populated village of Doron Baga on January 2 - before the attack
After: This image taken on January 7, following Boko Haram's assault, shows the village transformed by death and destruction
Destruction: It's estimated that 2,500 people were killed and more than 3,000 buildings were razed to the ground
In the pictures taken beforehand, the areas in red show buildings and trees in the densely packed towns in the north of the country.
But in the pictures taken after the massacre, they have been decimated and the infra-red satellite images instead reveal grey areas where the militants savagely razed the towns.
The destruction shown in these images matches the horrific stories from eyewitnesses revealing how Boko Haram militants shot hundreds of civilians in cold blood.
One witness described how the ruthless terror group were shooting indiscriminately, killing even small children and a woman who was in labour.
He added: 'Half of the baby boy is out and she died like this.'
Ibrahim Gambo, a 25-year-old truck driver, survived the relentless attack in Baga but he still doesn't know if his wife and daughter are safe.
He said: 'As we were running for our lives, we came across many corpses, both men and women, and even children.
'Some had gunshot wounds in the head and some had their legs bound and hands tied behind their backs.'
Yahaya Takakumi, a 55-year-old farmer, revealed to Nigeria's Premium Times how he managed to flee Baga with one of his wives - but does not know if his four children, his second wife or his elder brother managed to escape.
He said: 'We saw dead bodies especially, on the islands of Lake Chad where fishermen had settled. Several persons were killed there like insects.'
Mr Takakumi said the Islamic extremists opened fire on vessels carrying fleeing residents across the lake.
Daniel Eyre, Nigeria researcher for Amnesty International, said this was the 'largest and most destructive' Boko Haram assault his organisation has ever analysed.
He added: 'These detailed images show devastation of catastrophic proportions in two towns, one of which was almost wiped off the map in the space of four days.
'It represents a deliberate attack on civilians whose homes, clinics and schools are now burnt out ruins.
Turmoil: map showing Nigeria and the location of Baga which was devastated by brutal Boko Haram fanatics
Wave of terror: The yellow dots in this satellite image, taken after Boko Haram's onslaught on Baga, show around 620 structures damaged in the attack
Razed: A similar image shows the compete destruction of the neighbouring village of Doron Baga - also known as Doro Gowon
Experts have estimated the brutal assault killed more than 2,000 people with reports of locals running over dead bodies to escape the carnage.
Another survivor - a man in his fifties - told Amnesty: 'They killed so many people. I saw maybe around 100 killed at that time in Baga. I ran to the bush. As we were running, they were shooting and killing.'
He hid in the bush and was later discovered by Boko Haram fighters, who detained him in Doron Baga for four days.
Those who fled describe seeing many more corpses in the surrounding bush area, and one woman said: 'I don't know how many, but there were bodies everywhere we looked.'
In Baga, a densely populated town less than two square kilometres in size, approximately 620 structures were damaged or completely destroyed by fire.
And in Doron Baga, more than 3,100 structures were damaged or destroyed by fire that ravaged most of the four square kilometre town.
Mr Eyre added: 'This week, Nigeria's Director of Defence Information stated that the number of people killed in Baga, including Boko Haram fighters, 'has so far not exceeded about 150'.
'These images, together with the stories of those who survived the attack, suggest that the final death toll could be much higher than this figure.'
Boko Haram fighters have repeatedly targeted communities for their perceived collaboration with the security forces.
Thousands of people have fled the violence across the border to Chad and to other parts of Nigeria.
Many of the wooden fishing boats along the shoreline, visible in the images taken on January 2, are no longer present in January 7 images - tallying with eye witnesses' testimony that desperate residents fled by boat across Lake Chad.
Amnesty are calling on Boko Haram to stop killing civilians. They insist the deliberate slaughter of of civilians and destruction of their property by Boko Haram are war crimes and crimes against humanity and must be duly investigated.
They are calling for the Nigerian government should take all possible legal steps to restore security in the north-east and ensure protections of civilians.
Boko Haram drew international condemnation when its fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school in north-east Chibok last year. Dozens escaped, but 219 remain missing.
WHO ARE BOKO HARAM? THE BRUTAL FANATICS TERRORISING NIGERIA
Lunatic: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau rants in a still image taken from an undated video released by the Nigerian Islamist terror group
Boko Haram - which means 'Western education is forbidden' - have risen in prominence in recent years with their brutal bloodlust and indiscriminate murder in Nigeria.
The Islamist insurgent group are believed to have existed in various forms since the late 1990s, and claim to have approximately 9,000 fighters in their ranks.
They seek to overthrow the current Nigerian government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law.
In recent years, they have declared an allegiance with Al Qaeda and said they support their murderous global campaign.
Their leader is a man called Abubakar Shekau, who has been described as a 'gangster' and a 'loner'. He recently appeared in a video praising the terrorists who carried out the slaughter of 17 innocent people in Paris.
Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram has continually targeted young children. In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped close to 300 girls from their school in northern Nigeria.
By the beginning of thisyear, Boko Haram controlled towns and villages across an estimated are of about 20,000 square miles, in the north of Nigeria.
They are also believed to have terror cells operating in other countries across the African continent, including Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
The Nigerian army has struggled to contain their movements as they increase their grip on the region and continue their murderous campaign which has caused an estimated 1.5million people to flee the region.
The group has been declared a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United Nations Security Council.
History of violence: In December 2014, two female suicide bombers - allegedly under the instruction of Boko Haram - killed at least four people in a busy market in Nigeria's busiest city, Kano (pictured)
Wave of terror: The twin blasts in the market (pictured) came just two weeks after an attack on Kano's central mosque
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