38 extremists killed in clashes in northern Nigeria
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- Category: Law, Crime & Judiciary
- Published on Tuesday, 29 December 2009 02:41
- Written by Admin
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Thirty-eight members of the Boko Haram extremist group, including their leader, have been killed in clashes with a joint military-police force in the city of Bauchi in northern Nigeria.
Bauchi Police Chief Atikur Kafur told reporters on Monday that one soldier and two innocent people were among the dead in the Zango district of the city. He added that 14 people were also injured.
Twenty suspected militants were arrested, including nine adults and 11 juveniles.
The police chief identified the Boko Haram leader as Malam Badamasi.
Security agents searched the Boko Haram leader's premises and recovered “bomb-making tools and explosives, two AK-47 rifles with several rounds of ammunition,” AFP quoted Kafur as saying. A large quantity of swords, daggers, and gunpowder was also recovered, he added.
The members of Boko Haram (literally, Western or non-Islamic education is a sin) identify themselves as Muslims but have a number of bizarre beliefs not shared by the mainstream schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
They say they want to impose shariah (Islamic law) throughout all 36 states of Nigeria.
