Violence in Nigerian town claims 34 lives - Newspaper
Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Gunmen suspected to be members of the Islamic sect Boko Haram have killed at least 34 people since Friday in Potiskum in Nigeria's northern city of Yobe state, the private Sunday Trust reported, quoting sources at the General Hospital in the town.
What is now emerging as serial killings followed the clash between the military Joint Task Force (JTF), which has been carrying out a cordon-and-search operation in the town since Wednesday, and suspected Boko Haram members who have been active in the state.
“By Saturday morning, there were about 34 corpses in and around the morgue of the General Hospital,'' the sources said.
Among those killed by the rampaging gunmen, on Saturday, are a retired customs boss and his son, a retired police Sergeant, his wife and three children, as well as a tractor driver and six of his children.
Witnesses said the killings were carried out simultaneously and in a “commando style,” despite the restriction of movements in the town, ordered by the JTF
The retired Area Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service, Waziri Ajiya, and his son, Ibrahim, were reportedly taken to the outskirt of Potiskum in the early hours of Saturday and slaughtered.
Similarly, the retired police Sergeant, Haruna Adamu, his wife and three children were also attacked by the unidentified gunmen in their residence in Potiskum.
The tractor driver working at the Agricultural Department of Potiskum Local Government was also killed in his house, while six of his children were also killed in the same premises at Old Barrack Settlement in Potiskum.
The JTF has recently stepped up its attacks against Boko Haram in many of the states in the north where it (sect) is active, saying it had killed or arrest many of the sect's top commanders.
The sect has killed over 1,500 people in gun and bomb attacks since 2009, when it launched its violent campaign following the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, by security agents.
-0- PANA SEG 21Oct2012
