Originally published on September 7, 2013
Suspected Boko Haram Islamists opened fire at a local market in the northeast Nigerian town of Gajiran on Thursday (September 5), killing 15 people, according to residents. According to media in the state capital of Maiduguri, the gunmen pretended to be traders at the market before the killings took place.
Borno state in the northeast is the Islamist group Boko Haram's stronghold. The area has seen a spate of similar attacks recently.
According to those who lived in the area, the gunmen went into the market on foot and aboard trucks, beating the security checks at the entrance of town. Once at the market, the militants blended among traders who were conducting business, then opened fire. Gunmen also set fires to a local government building and a police post, according to an AFP report.
Gajiran is roughly 85 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital.
Later, at least 50 Boko Haram militants were killed after the military raided their camps, according to more recent reports quoting army spokesman Sagir Musa.
Following militant attacks on towns such as Gajiran, troops tracked gunmen back to their camps and destroyed them with air support, according to a BBC report.
Boko Haram, which seeks to create an Islamic state across Nigeria, has not commented on the either the attacks on towns or on the camp raids.
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