Suspected Boko Haram Islamists on Thursday
opened fire in a church in Nigeria’s restive northeast,
killing the pastor and his two children before setting
fire to the building and fleeing, the military said.
Boko Haram, which has said it is fighting to create an
Islamic state in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria, has
repeatedly attacked churches in its four-year
insurgency.
“Unknown gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram
terrorists attacked” the church in Yobe state early on
Thursday, area military spokesman Eli Lazarus said in a
statement.
“During the attack, a pastor and his two children were
killed,” he said.
The church “and two other houses in the community
were burnt by the gunmen before fleeing the scene of
the incident,” the statement further said.
The killings occurred in the town of Dorawa, some 30
kilometres (18 miles) from the site of a brutal school
attack in July that saw dozens of students slaughtered.
Yobe was one of three northeastern states placed
under a state of emergency in mid-May as the military
launched a major offensive aimed at crushing Boko
Haram.
Yobe has seen less violence than neighbouring Borno
state, Boko Haram’s base, but the insurgents have
carried out major attacks there.
Attacks on churches, including suicide bombings, were
once a near weekly occurence but have declined in
recent months.
Since the emergency measures were imposed Boko
Haram has largely targeted civilians as well as vigilante
groups which have formed to help the military.
The latest violence came after the emergence of a
new video, in which a man who resembles Boko Haram’s
leader mocked reports of his possible death.
Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the
United States, taunted the regional military spokesman
who said he “may have been” fatally wounded in a
clash on June 30.
While Shekau’s whereabouts and condition are unknown,
the violence has continued, casting doubt on the
success of the four-month-old military offensive.
The Boko Haram conflict was earlier this year
estimated to have killed more than 3,600 people,
including deaths caused by the security forces. The
current toll is likely much higher.
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