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Islamists kill more than 100 people in Nigeria
More than 100 people have been killed in a series of attacks in north-east Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect, a Nigerian Red Cross official said on Sunday.
More than 100 people have been killed in a series of attacks in north-east Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect, a Nigerian Red Cross official said on Sunday.
Ibrahim Bulama said he expected the figure to rise as local clinics and hospitals assess the casualties from the attacks on Friday in Damaturu, the capital of rural Yobe state.
While the hard-hit city’s Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Adha holiday, army and police units manned roadblocks leading into the town and streets were largely quiet, Bulama said.
The sect, called Boko Haram, also killed a police inspector on Sunday in the city of Maiduguri, the sect’s spiritual home about 80 miles east of Damaturu.
Sect gunmen stopped the officer’s car at gunpoint as he neared a mosque to pray with his family, local police commissioner Simeon Midenda said.
Nigeria on alert
Nigeria was on high alert Monday after the United States warned of fresh attacks following a wave of deadly blasts claimed by Islamists killed 150 people in the northeast of the country.
The US embassy in Nigeria warned the sect could next strike hotels and other targets in the capital Abuja during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Security was stepped up in Abuja, which has been a target of past attacks.
