'Boko Haram' attacks leave more than 80 people killed in northern Nigeria

2011-11-07 04:08:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMATURU, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- A series of bomb and shooting attacks targeting police stations, mosques and churches in northeastern Nigeria has left more than 80 people killed, officials said on Sunday. Dozens more have been injured.

The attacks began on Friday evening in the city of Damaturu in Yobe state when a car bomb exploded outside a three-story building which was being used as a military office. The attackers then went on a rampage, attacking a bank, police stations, mosques and churches.

Several buildings and a number of vehicles were completely burned down, witnesses said. At least 82 people were believed to have been killed in the Damaturu attacks, while several others were killed in the nearby village of Potiskum where residents were also attacked.

Few details about the fatalities were available as of Sunday, but local media reported that a part of the victims are believed to be police officers and members of the security forces. An unknown number of people, believed to be more than 100, has also been injured during the three-hour rampage.

Reports said the Boko Haram Islamist militant group, which operates in the area, has claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks, which happened just before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The Boko Haram group has been blamed by Nigerian officials for most of the region's terrorist attacks and seeks the imposition of an extremist stance of the Shariah law, which is a Muslim code of conduct. The group's name, 'Boko Haram' in the local language of Hausa, roughly translates as 'Western religion is sacrilegious' or 'non-Islamic religion is a sin.'

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