Boko Haram Islamist insurgents have
rampaged through a town in northeastern
Nigeria with heavy weapons, setting public
buildings on fire and killing a soldier and the
wife of a senior policeman, authorities said
Thursday. The attack on Wednesday was the latest
carnage to hit the region, which has seen an
upsurge in violence in recent days linked to
a military offensive as well as attacks by
Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. Armed with Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers
and homemade bombs, the Islamists stormed
Yadi Buni in Yobe state around 10:00 pm,
leading to a shootout with troops in which a
soldier was killed, state police commissioner
Sanusi Rufa’i said. They set fire to a makeshift police station,
the fire service, a local education office and
the home of the divisional police head in the
town, whose wife was burnt to death
inside, Rufa’i said. “Buni Yadi was attacked last night by Boko
Haram insurgents,” he said. “A soldier was
killed in a shootout and the wife of the
(divisional police chief) was burnt to death in
her home.” Telecom towers in the town were also
burnt by the Islamists, the police
commissioner said. It was the second time Buni Yadi was
attacked by Boko Haram in as many months. Scores of people have been left dead in
recent days from military raids or Boko
Haram attacks. The military claimed on Wednesday that a
strike on a Boko Haram camp in the
northeast last week left about 150 Islamists
and 16 soldiers dead, amid reports of dozens
of troops killed. On Tuesday night, suspected Boko Haram
members dressed as soldiers set up
checkpoints in the Benishiek area, killing an
unclear number of people and burning some
50 buildings. Some residents spoke of around 20 people
or more killed in Tuesday’s violence, but
there has been no official death toll. The attacks as well as claims and
counterclaims regarding last week’s
violence again raised questions over a four-
month-old military offensive seeking to end
a years-long insurgency by Boko Haram.
[AFP]
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