Updated on
Summary At least a dozen people were killed in gun and bomb attacks in northeastern Nigeria.
Gunmen suspected of being Boko Haram Islamists killed a dozen people when they razed a police station after failing to storm a jail in northeastern Nigerias Gombe city, police said Saturday.The city was put under lockdown, with no residents allowed to leave their homes, after the gun and bomb attacks in a botched attempt to free inmates.The gunmen had attempted to break into the prison near the police station and their attempt was unsuccessful, but they succeeded in burning down the police station, police chief for Gombe state Gandhi Ebikeme Orubebe told AFP.So far 12 people have been killed in the bomb and shooting attack, 10 of them were civilians and two policemen, he said, adding that the police station had been blown up with bombs.Witnesses had earlier told AFP they counted 14 bodies.No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Islamist sect Boko Haram last week said it was behind a prison raid in central Kogi state, near the capital Abuja, which freed 119 inmates.Boko Haram, blamed for a wave of recent raids in northern and central Nigeria, has repeatedly claimed its members are being illegally held in state prisons and demanded their release.Many of Boko Harams recent attacks have targeted the police, but suspected members of the sect also gunned down five worshippers inside a mosque on Friday as evening prayers ended in Kano, Nigerias second largest city.
