Children killed in Nigeria as Boko Haram attack city

By Olarewaju Kola and Rafiu Ajakaye

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

The death toll from a Boko Haram attack on the outskirts of a major city in northeast Nigeria has risen to 85, including eight children, witnesses and officials have told Anadolu Agency.

The attack on Saturday evening saw scores of militants attack Dalori, a small settlement on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

More than 50 people were injured in fighting that lasted for several hours.

A security source provided mobile phone footage of the aftermath. The video showed several bodies still in place and homes and vehicles severely burned. The corpses of scorched livestock littered the ground as emergency workers helped residents.

“We have taken at least 69 bodies to the morgue in Maiduguri,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said. “We are still evacuating more. We have lost count of the animals that died. The whole village lies in ruins in the aftermath of the attack.”

In a statement, Col. Mustapha Ankas, spokesman for the Nigerian military, said: “The insurgents came in two Golf cars, motorcycles [and] started opening fire and burning houses. Their motive was to cause rancor and penetrate crowds with suicide bombers.

“While people were running for their dear lives to Gomari Kerkeri village, three female suicide bombers attempted to make their way into the crowd but were intercepted and subsequently got blown up.”

Some local media reports claimed the militants wore Nigerian army uniforms.

The military did not provide an official indication of casualty numbers but local resident Malum Sheriff told Anadolu Agency that more than 60 people were killed.

“There are over 60 corpses now in the community,” he said. “I left there early this morning. Most of my family members are victims. I just came to the city to inform my elder brother.”

Some victims were “burnt beyond recognition in their houses” as militants torched more than 50 homes with improvised explosives, he added.

At Maiduguri’s State Specialist Hospital, a senior medical official said 65 bodies had been received.

“As at noon, we've received 65 dead bodies,” the official said on condition of anonymity because of restrictions on speaking to the media.

“Among these are about eight children. There are also over 60 people receiving treatment at our accident and emergency unit.”

State commissioner for health, Dr. Haruna Mshelia, confirmed that 65 bodies had been brought to State Specialist Hospitals from the scene of the attack.

State deputy governor, Usman Durkwa also told journalists another 10 bodies have been buried by the community while 10 corpses were deposited at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital some three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the scene of the attack.

The attack on Dalori came days after suicide attacks claimed dozens of lives across Borno and neighboring Adamawa states.

Boko Haram has waged a violent insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009 in a bid to establish a separate state. The conflict has spread recently to neighboring countries Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The Dalori attack cast doubt on Nigeria’s repeated claim to have defeated the insurgents militarily, limiting them to bomb attacks on soft targets.