(MAIDUGURI, Nigeria) — Coordinated attacks by Islamic extremists armed with heavy machine guns killed at least 42 people in northeast Nigeria, authorities said Tuesday, the latest in a string of increasingly bloody attacks threatening peace in Africa's most populous nation. The attack struck multiple locations in the hard-hit town of Bama in Nigeria's Borno state, where shootings and bombings have continued unstopped since an insurgency began there in 2010. Fighters raided a federal prison during their assault as well, freeing 105 inmates in another mass prison break to hit the country, officials said. (More: Paralyzing Strikes and Growing Muslim-Christian Violence Create a Migraine for Nigeria's Leader) What exactly happened in the attack remains unclear, though military spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said some 200 fighters in buses and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns attacked the barracks of the 202 Battalion of Nigeria's beleaguered army. Musa said two soldiers died in the attack, while some 10 insurgents died. However, the military routinely downplays their casualties in such assaults. "They came in army uniform pretending to be soldiers but were able to detect them," Musa said. The attackers struck the federal prison, killing 14 guards there, Musa said. They also attacked and razed a police station, a police barracks, a magistrate's court and local government offices, the lieutenant colonel said. At least 22 police officers, three children and a woman were killed in those attacks, said Bama police commander Sagir Abubakar. He said officers killed three insurgents in the fighting. Calls rang unanswered or couldn't connect Tuesday night to those living in Bama, a town 65 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Repeated attacks by Islamic extremists have seen mobile phone towers bombed and burned to the ground there, making communication even more difficult for security officials and civilians as well in the region. At least 17 people died in an attack in Bama in late April alone. Much of the violence has been blamed on the extremist network known as Boko Haram, which means "Western education(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=85498&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin