News / Africa
Suspected Boko Haram Islamists attack Nigerian prison and police station
25 Feb 2012 at 05:23hrs | Views
Kano - Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram Islamists Friday launched simultaneous gun and bomb attacks on a prison and a police station in the northern city of Gombe, a jail guard and a resident said.
The attackers staged what residents said appeared to be co-ordinated attacks on a main prison where some Boko Haram members are believed to be held, and on a nearby police station.
"We are under siege. A large number of gunmen have encircled the prison, shooting and detonating explosives. It is clear they are Boko Haram," a prison warden told AFP from inside the central prison in Gombe city.
A resident, Ibrahim Yau, said gunshots and explosions rang across the city for over an hour.
"There has been shooting and bomb attacks at the district police station in the centre of the city, and also the central prison," he said.
The prison overlooks the police station and both are situated near the palace of the tradition Muslim leader, the emir, in downtown Gombe city, the capital of a state that goes by the same name.
The attackers staged what residents said appeared to be co-ordinated attacks on a main prison where some Boko Haram members are believed to be held, and on a nearby police station.
"We are under siege. A large number of gunmen have encircled the prison, shooting and detonating explosives. It is clear they are Boko Haram," a prison warden told AFP from inside the central prison in Gombe city.
A resident, Ibrahim Yau, said gunshots and explosions rang across the city for over an hour.
"There has been shooting and bomb attacks at the district police station in the centre of the city, and also the central prison," he said.
The prison overlooks the police station and both are situated near the palace of the tradition Muslim leader, the emir, in downtown Gombe city, the capital of a state that goes by the same name.
Source - Sapa
