Boko Haram kills 56 in Mosque Attack

Suspected Islamist extremists have stormed a
mosque and shot dead 44 worshippers as well
as 12 other people in a nearby village in
Nigeria’s restive northeast, officials said on
Monday.

The attacks at the weekend were believed to be
in revenge over citizen vigilante groups forming
to help the military battle Islamist extremist
group Boko Haram, which has been waging an
insurgency since 2009.

“Gunmen believed to be Boko Haram members
entered the mosque and opened fire on
Muslim worshippers, killing 44,” a senior
government official said on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorised to
speak publicly of the attack in Konduga on
Sunday.

“We believe the attack was not unconnected
with the cooperation residents are giving to
security operatives in identifying and arresting
Boko Haram members in their midst.”
A local official said suspected Boko Haram
members also raided Ngom village in the
nearby Mafa district and shot dead 12 people
on Saturday night.

“Boko Haram members came into Ngom village
… and shot dead 12 people on Saturday night,”
the official said, also on condition of anonymity.
He said they were shot at their homes.
Some residents spoke of the attackers in
Konduga arriving wearing army camouflage, a
tactic they have used in the past to disguise
themselves, though those details had not been
officially confirmed.

The violence came as Nigeria’s military pursues
an offensive in the country’s northeast aimed at
ending the insurgency, with a state of
emergency declared in the region in May.
In recent weeks, the military has encouraged
the formation of vigilante groups to help
authorities locate and arrest members of Boko
Haram.

The vigilante groups have been credited with
reducing the number of attacks, but some have
warned that the situation could spiral out of
control and lead to further violence.
Boko Haram’s insurgency has left at least 3,600
people dead since 2009, including killings by
the security forces, who have been accused of
major abuses.

The military has claimed major successes with
its offensive, but its version of events is difficult
to verify with authorities having cut phone lines
in many areas and access to remote locations
restricted.

While the number of attacks appears to have
declined, violence has nonetheless continued,
including three recent deadly school attacks.
In a video obtained on Monday, Boko Haram
leader Abubakar Shekau claimed a series of
recent deadly attacks on security forces in the
northeast and insisted that he was in “good
health” despite the offensive.

The video contained what Shekau claimed was
footage of Boko Haram gunmen opening fire
on the military in the town of Bama, using
heavy weapons mounted on flat-bed trucks.
Shekau also referred to fighting in the towns
Baga and Gamboru Ngala near the border with
Cameroon.

The Boko Haram leader has been declared a
global terrorist by the United States, which in
March put a $7 million (5.3 million euros)
bounty on his head.

“I’m challenging Obama,” Shekau said in the
video. He voiced similar challenges to French
President Francois Hollande and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“They are no match for me,” he proclaimed.
Boko Haram has claimed to be fighting for the
creation of an Islamic state in Africa’s most
populous nation and largest oil producer,
though it is believed to have various factions
with differing aims.

Nigeria’s 160 million population is roughly
divided between a mainly Muslim north and
predominately Christian south.