#News: Nigeria gunmen 'raid Damaturu city'

[BBC]

 "I couldn't go out for morning prayers because this started before dawn and I'm afraid to leave in case I get caught up in it."

Boko Haram has taken control of a series of towns and villages in north-east Nigeria in recent months.

The authorities have struggled to defeat the militant Islamist group, which has been waging an insurgency since 2009.

New York-based Human Rights Watch says Boko Haram has killed more than 2,000 civilians this year.

Boko Haram has taken control of a series of towns and villages in north-east Nigeria in recent months  On Friday, more than 100 people were killed in a gun and bomb attack on a mosque in the city of Kano.

The identity of the attackers has not been confirmed but Boko Haram has been widely blamed.

Damaturu has been targeted by Boko Haram a number of times before. At least 63 people were killed in an attack on churches and police in 2011 in what was then the deadliest attack of the insurgency.

On several other occasions since then, militants and the security forces have engaged in gun battles in the city.

Earlier this year, a suicide bomber in Damaturu targeted a crowd watching a televised World Cup football match, killing more than 20 people.

 Who are Boko Haram?

• Founded in 2002
• Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
• Some three million people affected
• Declared terrorist group by US in 2013

Escape from Boko Haram

Who are Boko Haram?

Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau

Will 'truce' with Boko Haram free Chibok girls?


Source: BBC