Jihadists kill, abduct dozens in Nigeria

Jihadists killed at least 30 people and abducted women and children in a raid in northeast Nigeria’s restive Borno state, a regional government spokesman said yesterday.

The attack Sunday evening targeted the village of Auno on a key highway linking to regional capital Maiduguri.

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The jihadists stormed in on trucks mounted with heavy weapons, killing, burning and looting before kidnapping women and children, state government spokesman Ahmad Abdurrahman Bundi said.

The attack, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Maiduguri, occurred in an area where fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been active, mounting roadblocks to target security forces and civilians.

Witnesses said jihadists set alight 30 vehicles in the raid, including trucks that had stopped overnight on their way to Maiduguri.

“Many of the drivers and their assistants who were sleeping in the vehicles were burnt alive,” said Babakura Kolo, a member of a state-backed anti-jihadist militia.

The jihadists combed through the village, looting and burning shops and property before withdrawing, he said.

An official told AFP the militants took away three buses carrying women and children to Maiduguri. “We still don’t know how many women and children they took away but the number is huge,” he said.