Nigerian Army Special Forces personnel
December 10, 2012
KANO (AFP)
A policeman and at least three suspected Boko Haram gunmen died Monday following an early morning bombing and shooting raid on a police formation in northeast Nigeria, a military spokesman said.
Suspected Boko Haram Islamists
launched an attack with explosives
and rifles on a regional police headquarters in the town of Potiskum
in Yobe state around 2:00 am (0100 GMT), leading to a shootout with police and troops, Lieutenant Lazarus Eli
said.
“The (military) was promptly alerted
and reinforced the police in repelling
the attack by Boko Haram terrorists on
the police area command,” he told AFP. “The DPO (Divisional Police Officer) died in hospital from gunshot wounds he sustained in the shootout while three bodies of the terrorists were recovered, although the terrorists took away around 10 of their men killed in the encounter,” Eli claimed.
Residents of Potiskum said explosions
and gunfire echoed through the town
for over three hours. The Islamists also burnt a bank and looted a store, residents said, but Eli declined to comment.
Potiskum, the commercial capital of the state, has been repeatedly hit by deadly Boko Haram attacks in recent months, leading to heavy military crackdowns in which dozens of sect members were killed or arrested. Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency has left some 3,000 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security forces.
