The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) has named  militant Fulani herdsmen as the fourth deadliest terror group in the world.

Only Boko Haram, the Islamic State In Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Shabab were deemed deadlier than the little-known militant group which operates in West Africa and parts of the Central African Republic.

The little-known group, made up of individuals from the semi-nomadic ethnic Fulani people existing across several West African nations has seen a dramatic escalation of its activities in the past year.

According to the latest GTI report, in 2013, the Fulani herdsmen killed around 80 people in total but by 2014 the group had killed an estimated 1,229 people.

Operating mainly in the middle belt of Nigeria as opposed to the north which is dominated by Boko Haram, the group recorded 847 deaths last year across five states in the country.

Although very little is known about the group despite the high death toll they are inflicting on local civilian populations, the supposed instability in CAR and Nigeria has facilitated the group’s expansion.

The report indicates that as much as 92 percent of their attacks target private citizens, reflecting the group’s primary concern over the ownership of farmlands.

Each attack claims an average of 11 lives with the largest known in April 2014 killing as many as 200 people after a group of the militants targeted community leaders and residents during a meeting in Nigeria’s Zamfara State.

The report further revealed that in the past year,  Nigeria has experienced the greatest increase in deaths from terrorism, with 7,512 deaths reported, an increase of over 300 percent.