Boko Haram is a grassroots Islamist militant group based in northeast Nigeria and predominantly active in that area. The group has employed both terrorist and insurgent tactics to achieve its objective. Twice Boko Haram has shifted to conventional tactics and attempted to take and hold territory within Nigeria — similar to the Islamic State's attempt to carve out a caliphate in the Middle East. The group's attempts were temporary, however, and were contained entirely within northeast Nigeria. A Nigerian military counteroffensive rebuffed the first of these attempts in 2013. Another attempt began in August 2014 and is also steadily eroding under a similar counteroffensive . In both cases, the group enjoyed initial success and gained territory. These successes primarily stemmed from the failures of the Nigerian government and military and less from militant capabilities.