Nigerian troops kill three Islamists trying to burn school: army

KANO, Nigeria — Troops in Nigeria's northern city of Maiduguri on Monday shot dead three suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram sect as they allegedly tried to burn down a school, the army said.

"Around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) today, men of the JTF interrupted five suspected members of Boko Haram trying to burn down a school in the heart of Maiduguri metropolis," Lieutenant Colonel Hassam Mohammed told AFP by telephone.

"Three of the suspects were shot dead while two others were shot and injured. They are now in our custody," said the Joint Task Force (JTF) spokesman.

A number of homemade explosives which they allegedly intended to use in burning the primary school in the Lamisula district of the city were recovered, he said.

In less than two weeks, at least a dozen public and private schools in restive Maiduguri city, hotbed of Boko Haram, have been burnt by members of the sect.

The Islamist Boko Haram, whose name translates to "Western education is sin", had said it was behind some previous attacks, saying the act was in response to "raids" by soldiers on an Islamic seminary in the city.

A purported spokesman of the group, Abul Qaqa, on February 26 after the bombing of a church in the central Nigerian city of Jos, said the school attacks were over the "indiscriminate arrests of students of Koranic schools by security agents".

Sect leader Abubakar Shekau had issued a threat in January in an audio message in which his group claimed responsibility for a January 20 attack in the northern city of Kano that killed 185 people.

The sect, blamed for a wave of attacks mainly in northern Nigeria, had over the past two-and-half years targeted mostly the police and other symbols of authority in Africa's most populous nation.

It has lately added churches on its list of targets.

Although its specific aims remain largely unclear, violence by the sect since mid-2009 has claimed more than 1,000 lives, including more than 300 this year alone, according to AFP and rights groups.

Last month, Nigeria's military chief said the sect has ties to Al-Qaeda, the first time a top security official has publicly drawn such links.

"We have been able to link the activities of the Boko Haram sect to the support and training the sect received from AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb)," Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin said, without giving further details.

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Gunmen kill 2 in attack on Nigerian policeman's home

Gunmen attacked the home of a senior Nigerian policeman Monday killing at least two officers on guard, authorities said, with scores of such attacks blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram.

The senior officer was not believed to have been in the house at the time of the attack on Monday afternoon on the outskirts of the northern city of Kano. The gunmen were not believed to have gained entrance to the home.

"A group of armed men on motorcycles attacked policemen on guard duty at a residence of a senior police officer at Dorayi quarters," a police statement said.

"During the gun duel, two policemen were killed, two injured, while the hoodlums escaped with bullet wounds."

Members of the public also pursued the attackers, the statement said.

Residents reported four policemen killed, but authorities had not confirmed the number. The home was believed to belong to the police commissioner for Imo state in Nigeria's southeast.

According to residents, two attackers arrived on motorcycles at the front of the house, while others approached from the rear. They were disguised as labourers and carried a bag of cement, residents said.

Nigeria's north has been hit by scores of shootings and bomb blasts blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram. Police have often been targeted in the attacks.

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Fresh:Suspected Nigeria Islamists kill five in north

Gunmen shot dead five people in their homes in two northern Nigerian cities on Monday, security forces said, the latest in a string of deadly attacks by suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect.

"Two people have been shot dead today by Boko Haram in Maiduguri," the operations officer for the remote northeastern city, Victor Ebheleme, told Reuters.

"The area in which the attack took place has been cordoned off and the killers have been trailed, but no arrests have been made yet."

Three Chadians were also killed in the volatile city of Damaturu, police commissioner for the city and its surrounding state of Yobe, Lawal Tanko, said.

Boko Haram wants sharia law applied across Nigeria, which is roughly split equally between Christians and Muslims. The group's low level insurgency has intensified in the past year, becoming a major security headache for President Goodluck Jonathan.

Jonathan declared a state of emergency in several regions in Nigeria on December 31, closing Nigeria's borders with Niger, Cameroon and Chad, after a spate of Christmas Day attacks on churches and other targets.

Gunmen shot dead two Chadians on Sunday, as well, authorities said.

Maiduguri is Boko Haram's heartland and Damaturu is increasingly a focal point for its militant activity.

Damaturu was the scene of fierce gunbattle between the military and Boko Haram on December 24, when more than 50 people were killed, mostly sect members.

Source:Reuters

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