Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members raided a village nort of
Maiduguri as people were preparing for prayers, killing 39 people, local
residents said Sunday.
Dozens of attackers dressed in military
uniform stormed Mainok, almost 50 kilometres from Maiduguri, on
Saturday, firing rocket propelled grenades and Kalashnikovs.
Twin blasts on Saturday also killed at least 35 in Maiduguri, a Boko Haram stronghold.
"They
came in around 7:00 pm and opened fire indiscriminately with RPGs
(rocket propelled grenades), explosives and AK-47 rifles," said resident
Yahaya Umar.
"They killed 39 people who were buried this morning and destroyed the whole town," he said.
Another resident Abdullahi Gana gave a similar account of the incident.
"We
were just lamenting the twin blasts in Maiduguri ... when the Boko
Haram gunmen arrived and started firing volleys of RPGs and guns," he
said.
Military and police authorities were not available for
comment on the attack, the latest blamed on the Boko Haram Islamist
group in the village.
The Islamists have repeatedly attacked Mainok in the past two years. In July, a separate raid killed 25 people.
