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Boko Haram shooting: Gunmen kill at least 97 people praying at a mosque in Nigeria Boko Haram shooting: Gunmen kill at least 97 people praying at mosques in Nigeria
(about 1 hour later)
A government official and a self-defense fighter say Boko Haram extremists have gunned down nearly 100 Muslims praying in mosques in northeastern Nigeria. Boko Haram gunmen have killed almost 100 worshippers gathered at mosques in northeast Nigeria during the holy month of Ramadan.
They say the attack Wednesday night on the town of Kukawa came as people were praying ahead of breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. They say 97 people, mainly men, were killed. Worshippers were praying before breaking their fasts when the attackers stormed several mosques and opened fire in Kukawa.
A senior government official from the area said the Islamic extremists targeted several mosques in the town. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to give information to reporters. At least 97 people, mainly men, were fatally shot according to local vigilante Abbas Gava and a senior government official who remained unnamed.
Vigilante group spokesman Abbas Gava says its self-defense fighters in Kukawa said some militants broke into people's homes, killing women and children. Boko Haram militants also broke into people’s homes and killed women and children as they prepared evening meals, Gava said quoting fighters from his group in the town.
Boko Haram often defiles mosques where it believes clerics espouse too moderate a form of Islam. The violence is characteristic of Boko Haram’s attacks on mosques espousing a moderate form of Islam, and is in line with a directive from extremist group Isis for fighters to increase attacks during Ramadan.
More to follow Earlier this year, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to Isis, which has claimed swathes of land in Syria and Iraq.
AP Wednesday’s attack come a day after the extremist group killed 48 men and boys in the village of Mussaram, around 35km away according to witnesses who counted the dead.
The killers ordered men and women to separate and then opened fire on the men and boys, witnesses said.
“A total of 48 males died on the spot while 17 others escaped with serious injuries,” said Maidugu Bida, a self-defense official based in nearby Monguno who helped bury the dead.
Additional reporting by AP
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