LAGOS: At least 8 members of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram were killed in a shoot-out with police in northeastern Nigeria, the state television reported late on Monday. According to reports, the members were killed in Maiduguri, which is the group's home base. Witnesses interviewed by television channels said they saw police chasing men through a market. It comes after a bomb attack outside a church in Abuja on Sunday, suspected to be by Nigeria's Boko Haram sect, has left at least two people seriously injured, the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. Several other worshipers were also hurt in the blast in the suburb of Sulieja. Five cars were also badly damaged in the attack when a parked car filled with explosives detonated outside the Christ Embassy Church. Witness Ngozi Favour told dpa that “the church service was still on-going when the car exploded, otherwise we would have suffered more casaulties.” Sulieja is a volatile area known for previous attacks – including one during the 2011 presidential election at the Independent Electoral Office left scores dead. Human rights organizations say more than 250 people have been killed since January in attacks carried out by the group. The security forces have faced mounting pressure to contain the Boko Haram insurgency, which has intensified in recent weeks in a wave of both large and small attacks. The group killed at least 185 people in coordinated gun and bomb attacks in Nigeria's second city of Kano on January 20, its deadliest ever strike. It has also attacked churches and the United Nations office in Abuja. A Christmas Day bombing of the St Theresa Catholic Church near Abuja by Boko Haram left 43 people dead and scores injured. ** with dpa BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/apBbN Tags: Boko Haram, Nigeria, Police Section: Latest News, West Africa
