Boko Haram strikes again, with over 30 dead in latest attack, officials say
Boko Haram allegedly attacked a northern Nigerian village Sunday night, killing dozens, according to local authorities. That, after another Boko Haram attack in Nigeria earlier this past weekend, which resulted in several dozen deaths.
People gather near the rubble of houses after a bomb attack in Ajilari-Gomari near the city's airport, in Maiduguri, Nigeria March 2, 2014. The militant group Boko Haram is allegedly behind this and other recent deadly attacks in the African nation.
REUTERS
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria
Ending a weekend of violence, 32 people were killed in the northern Nigerian village of Mafa Sunday night after soldiers fled the area, outgunned by suspected Islamist insurgents, officials said.
Additionally, "a bomb exploded this morning and two policemen were killed while trying to evacuate injured victims," Senator Ahmed Zannah said Monday.
Thatched roofs were set ablaze as gunmen rolled into town shooting at about 8 p.m., according to Mafa resident Modu Yuraim.
"They have set on fire the entire village, sparing nothing," Yuriam said. "All houses, all shops and government buildings were razed down completely. We have been devastated beyond what one can describe."
This destruction comes after bombings and shootouts on Saturday evening in Borno State, Nigeria that killed nearly 100 people.
A week before the attack most Mafa residents fled their homes after leaflets were dropped in the village, warning of imminent danger, Zannah said. Seven soldiers in Borno are also believed to be missing, he added.
Residents and officials blamed Islamist insurgents known as Boko Haram for the attacks. Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in the past four and a half years and three northeastern Nigerian states have been under emergency rule for over nine months.