KANO-
An attack by scores of Boko Haram Islamists in the north-east Nigeria town of Bama has killed 60 people and caused massive destruction to public buildings, police told AFP on Thursday.
Residents said gunmen stormed the town at roughly 4am (10am, Singapore time) on Wednesday, armed with heavy weapons and tossed explosives into various buildings, forcing residents to flee into the surrounding bush.
“We are collating the figures and the death toll has risen to 60 from the Bama attack,” said Mr Lawal Tanko, the police commissioner in Borno state, which is the epicentre of Boko Haram’s four-and-half-year Islamist uprising.
“The toll is likely to rise,” he said. “The attackers caused enormous destruction. They burnt down some of the major landmarks in the town including the local government secretariat,” and the palace of the area’s top cleric, Tanko added.
