Boko Haram Militants Disguised As Preachers Kill Dozens In Nigeria

[HuffingtonPost]

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, 6 April - Islamist Boko Haram militants  disguised as preachers killed at least 24 people and wounded  several others in an attack near a mosque in northeast Nigeria's  Borno state, a military source and witness said on Monday.                

The attackers arrived in cars late on Sunday and gathered  people at a mosque in the remote village of Kwajafa, pretending  to preach Islam. They then opened fire on them, witness Simeon  Buba said.                

The group's six-year insurgency, and President Goodluck  Jonathan's failure to end it or protect civilians, were factors  in the victory of opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari in last  week's election.                

The group fighting for an Islamic state has killed thousands  and kidnapped hundreds, although a military operation against  them by Nigeria and neighbors Chad, Cameroon and Niger in the  past two months has wrested back much of the territory it  controlled.                

"People didn't know the Boko Haram men came for attack  because they lied to our people that they came for preaching,"  said Buba in a telephone conversation.                

"They opened fire on them and killed many people," he said,  adding that houses were set on fire.                

Some people were being treated for gunshot wounds and burns  at a hospital in the Borno state town of Biu on Monday, a source  there said.     (Reporting by Lanre Ola; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing  by Tim Cocks and Tom Heneghan)
Source: HuffingtonPost