[ 2012-08-13 ]

Nigerian violence death toll rises to 24
KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - A military raid, a shootout
and an attack on police guarding a church in
separate incidents in northern Nigeria left 24
dead, the latest violence in the restive region,
officials said Monday.

The deadliest of the incidents occurred in the
northeastern city of Maiduguri, when soldiers
raided an alleged hideout of members of Islamist
extremist group Boko Haram, leaving 21 people
dead.

A military commander said those killed included 20
suspected Boko Haram members and one soldier. A
purported spokesman for the Islamists said none of
their members died and that civilians were the
victims.

In Damaturu, also in the northeast, a military and
police task force killed two suspected members of
Boko Haram in a shootout and arrested more than 30
others, police said Monday.

"A joint military and police patrol team in
Bindigari area of Damaturu came under gun attack
on Sunday from suspected members of Boko Haram.
Two of the gunmen were killed in a shootout,"
police spokesman Toyin Gbadegesin said.

"They tried to ambush the patrol team but the
security operatives suppressed them. More than 30
other suspected members of the sect were
arrested."

Residents said the shootout lasted more than five
hours and that soldiers went door-to-door in
search of the gunmen.

In Gombe, gunmen fired shots at a Roman Catholic
church during mass, killing a policeman on guard
and wounding his colleague before fleeing, parish
priest William Ochai told AFP on Monday.

Boko Haram has been blamed for the deaths of more
than 1,400 people since 2010 in attacks across
northern and central Nigeria, according to a toll
compiled by Human Rights Watch.

The US State Department in June designated the
group's suspected leader and two other Nigerian
militants as global terrorists.

Source - AFP

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