Africa

Nigerian Islamists kill 26 in two attacks, police claim

Militants opened fire in two villages close to were Boko Haram abducted schoolgirls

Officials and police officers look through the aftermath at the scene of a bomb attack in a market in Jos last night, which was followed by two attacks on rural villages today. Photograph: EPA

Wed May 21 2014 - 17:06

Suspected Nigerian Islamist militants killed 26 people in two attacks on remote northeastern villages overnight, police said today, demonstrating their ability to attack civilians hours after a bomb blast killed 118 people in the central city of Jos.

In one raid, militants opened fire on the village of Alagarno and razed several houses to the ground, killing 17 people, a source at police headquarters told Reuters. The attack was barely 30 km from Chibok, from where Boko Haram Islamists abducted more than 200 schoolgirls last month.

In another, attackers on motorbikes attacked the nearby village of Shawa, killing nine people.

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