Abuja: Suspected Islamic militants on Monday shot dead seven police officers and wounded several others in a fresh wave of violence in Nigeria`s northern city of Maiduguri. Witnesses believe the assailants were members of Islamic Fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, which uses the city as its headquarters.
The gunmen besieged the house of a former senator and shot dead one policeman. Another attack carried out elsewhere within Maiduguri killed four officers, While two others were killed in an attack in Mafa village, some distance from Maiduguri, a police official said.
Samuel Tizhe, police spokesperson, said 20 gunmen attacked a divisional police headquarters and engaged officers in a gun duel for an hour during which two of the officers lost their lives.
All the assailants escaped after the attack, Tizhe added. Boko Haram, has been waging a bloody war against Nigeria`s government to enact Shariah law in the country.
PTI