Nigeria says 14 Militants, 3 Soldiers Killed in Latest Fighting

ABUJA — The Nigerian military says it has killed 14 Boko Haram militants and arrested 20 others.  The military says three soldiers died in the fighting Sunday and another is missing.

It was only last Tuesday that Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the immediate deployment of thousands of soldiers to the north to fight Boko Haram, a militant group that has been blamed for thousands of deaths in the past four years.  But as of Sunday, the military says 24 Boko Haram members have been killed and another 85 captured in the offensive.

VOA could not independently verify the military claims because roads to affected areas are blocked and communications networks are sporadic at best.  Some analysts fear the military, which international rights groups have accused of extra-judicial killings and other abuses, could alienate the people by killing civilians along with suspected militants.

A VOA reporter in Maiduguri, the epicenter of the insurrection, says many locals are suffering through a 24-hour curfew and largely lack the ability to communicate with the outside world.  But he says many residents believe the offensive could ultimately bring peace to the region, as long as the soldiers treat residents with care.

Ismail, a schoolteacher in Maiduguri, said “The state of emergency to some large extent (is) a welcome development.  But the only fear is how the security operatives will engage themselves in this operation with the rules of engagement in the back of their minds so that we will have minimal collateral damage, unlike the previous times.” 

The northern offensive was ordered after an escalation of Boko Haram-related violence recent months.  Officials say Boko Haram, which claims to want to impose Islamic law and secure the release of its imprisoned members, now has heavy artillery, like anti-tank guns and machine guns mounted on trucks.

from VOA News
by Heather Murdock
May 19, 2013

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5/17/13: Nigeria: Casualties as military launch air strikes on Boko Haram strongholds

KANO  – Nigeria’s military on Friday attacked Boko Haram Islamist strongholds across the northeast, launching deadly air strikes on insurgent camps, the military said, while residents reported that forces had deployed in border areas to block the militants from fleeing.
Several thousand soldiers have spread across three northeastern states where President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency after Boko Haram seized territory and declared war against the government.

“There have been air strikes since Wednesday,” defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade told AFP, specifying that they were continuing Friday.

“Every one of their strongholds is under attack,” he said, adding that he believed “there are a lot of casualties,” without providing a figure.

The offensive is ongoing in all three states put under emergency decree, including Adamawa and Yobe, but Borno state is expected to see the most intense fighting.

Many have warned that there is a risk of high civilian deaths and Nigeria’s military has been accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

The operation is the largest against Boko Haram since 2009, when soldiers flooded Borno’s capital Maiduguri, killing more than 800 people and forcing the insurgents underground for a year.

In the town of Gamburu Ngala on the border with Cameroon in northern Borno, residents said that heavily armed troops and tanks arrived on Wednesday, sealing off previously unmanned border posts.

Northeast Nigeria, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, has porous borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with criminal groups and militants flowing freely between the countries.

“Since January the border posts have been abandoned…but now these posts have been taken over by soldiers,” said resident Haruna Garba.

Olukolade confirmed that forces had been sent to the region, but would not say whether the borders had been sealed.

Reports of Boko Haram’s presence in Cameroon first emerged in February, following the kidnap there of a French family visiting a game park near the Nigerian border.

The abduction was claimed by Boko Haram and the family was released in April.

Soldiers have surrounded the town of Krenuwa in Marte district, also in northern Borno and one of the areas where Boko Haram has taken power, chased away all government officials and removed Nigerian flags, residents said.

Abur Kullima told AFP Friday that he fled his home in Krenuwa in fear of the coming assault.

He said that after the state of emergency was declared in a national broadcast late Tuesday, Islamist gunmen began moving through the district trying to mobilise people “in preparation to face Nigerian troops.”

“I was so scared for my life and my family’s, which led me to decide to leave,” he told AFP from Gamburu Ngala, where he is staying with a friend.

Anyone who tries to leave Krenuwa is screened by the soldiers who have encircled the town, he said.

Boko Haram has become notorious for blending in with the local population, both in towns and major cities where they have carried out suicide bombings as well as gun and bomb assaults.

The group says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, but its demands have repeatedly shifted.

Some believe it has sought closer ties to foreign extremist groups like Al-Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate, but most analysts believe its agenda is primarily domestic.

Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer but the population remains extremely poor and many of Boko Haram’s fighters are believed to be youths radicalised out of frustration with government corruption.

The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces

from VANGUARD

On May 17, 2013 ·12:26 pm

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Nigerian Christian Youth Reject Amnesty for Boko Haram

A picture taken from a video reportedly shows Abubakar Shekau (C), the suspected leader of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, flanked by six armed and hooded fighters in an undisclosed place, March 5, 2013.

ABUJA — The youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria on Wednesday warned President Goodluck Jonathan against granting any kind of amnesty deal to the militant group known as Boko Haram, calling the proposition “a clarion call to all terrorism in Nigeria.”

In recent weeks, the clamor from leaders of Nigeria’s volatile north has grown loud. They want the president to mediate an amnesty deal with Boko Haram, a militant group some call “the Nigerian Taliban.” 

Last week, President Jonathan announced he is forming a committee to look into the possibility.  The youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, an umbrella organization that represents several denominations, said even entertaining the possibility will “fuel the anger of the Christian youth.”

“Mr. President should remember that the amnesty being advocated is for Muslim youths who are the Boko Haram members and who have killed, maimed out fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and children and also bombed and burnt our churches without provocation,” said Simon Dolly, the organization’s president.

In a thinly veiled warning, Dolly went on to say that young Christians have not responded to Boko Haram violence in kind because the Christian Association of Nigeria has forbidden it.

The Christian Association’s southeastern secretary, Christian Nwanya, says the only way to end the violence is by brute force. “Beef up security.  They do not need amnesty. They should apologize for [to] Nigerians for killing us," she stated. "You can not forgive someone who kills you. It is not done anywhere.”

Violence associated with Boko Haram has killed more than 3,000 people since the insurgency began in 2009, including killings by security forces.  Boko Haram has attacked government buildings, media houses, churches, security forces, communications infrastructure, and the local U.N. headquarters.

Northern leaders argue the regional economy could collapse under the strain of constant attacks, and it is the north that bears almost the entire effects of the insurgency. 

In 2009, militants in the southern Niger Delta turned in their weapons and promised not to fight in exchange for job training and small salaries.  Supporters of amnesty for Boko Haram point out that the Niger Delta amnesty quieted what was nearly an all-out war.

from VOA News
by Heather Murdock
April 10, 2013

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Nigeria: 60 Killed in Kano Bus Park Bombing

At least five luxury buses were destroyed in the explosions (photo: DailyTrust)

Kano — About 60 people were feared dead, yesterday evening, in Kano when a suicide bomber attacked a bus park located at Sabon Gari, a predominantly Christian quarters.

The blast reportedly destroyed several buses while soldiers and policemen cordoned off the area after the blast.

The Chairman, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Kano, Chief Tobias Idika told Vanguard on phone that, "the incident occurred around 5.00 pm when activities at the park were at their peak. So far we have counted 60 human bodies burnt to ashes from five luxury buses affected by the blast. Eye witnesses gave conflicting accounts of how the explosion occured.

An account said "the blast occurred as five fully loaded buses were moving towards the exit gate at the park when an unidentified individual driving a Golf Volkswagen car in an opposite direction rammed into the buses resulting in an explosion. The suicide bomber died instantly."

According to Chief Idiaka , "all the five buses have been reduced to ashes by the impact of the blast, and scores of others with high degree burns have been taken to Government hospital. Casualty figures might rise if what I have seen so far is anything to go by.

"We saw it coming and we informed the relevant authority to provide security for us in Sabon Gari but it fell on deaf ears", he lamented.

Idika who was in tears further said: " I cannot comprehend that human lives can be wasted like this; it is a horrible scene to behold and the fire service are trying their best to put off the inferno within and around the park".

Another eyewitness told Vanguard that "an Improvised Explosive Device went off in one of the five buses going out of the park by 5.00pm", adding that "there are heightened fears that none of the passengers survived the blast."

The Sabon Gari blast triggered pandemonium in the state capital as shops were hurriedly shut down in fear of possible looting by hoodlums.

The Joint Military Taskforce confirmed the blast. Spokesman of the Military outfit, Captain Ikediche Iweha told Vanguard that "we have moved in to the scene of the blast and we are trying to restore confidence to forestall looting."

Captain Iweha explained that "we have invited men from Fire Service Department to put off the fire triggered by the blast and dozens were down by the impact of the blast. Our priority now is to secure the area and we do not have the casualty figure because we have not started counting. Investigation has commenced on the incident and that will reveal what happened, and how it happened".

Jonathan condemns blast

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has condemned in strong terms, yesterday's bomb blasts in Kano. The President said the barbaric incident will not deter the Federal Government from its strong-willed determination to overcome those who do not mean well for this nation. He said the Federal Government will not be stampeded, for any reason whatsoever, into abandoning its unrelenting war against terrorists in the country.

President Jonathan reassured Nigerians and foreigners in the country that the Nigerian Government will continue to do all that is required to ensure the safety of lives and property, including continued collaboration with local and international partners and stakeholders to check the menace of terrorism.

He commiserated with the victims of the Kano explosions, their families and friends, and assured the KanoState government of the Federal Government's continued support.

from allAfrica/VANGUARD
By Abdulsalam Muhammad, 19 March 2013

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Nigeria: Boko Haram - Jonathan Gives Condition for Amnesty

The president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, at the Nuclear Security Summit, in 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Against the backdrop of calls for the granting of amnesty to adherents of the Jama'atul Ahlus Sunnah Lidda'awati Wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, the federal government has indicated that adherence to this is predicated on the physical appearance of the leadership and elements of the group.

President Goodluck Jonathan gave this condition Thursday during a town hall meeting with stakeholders in Yobe State, where he paid a one day visit.

Although the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had faulted the call for amnesty as an anti-dote to the current problem of Islamists insurgence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa'ad had pioneered the request ahead of the president's visit to Yobe Wednesday.

from allAfrica/THISDAY
By Muhammad Bello, 7 March 2013

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Nigeria: Sultan Urges Amnesty for Boko Haram

Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad

The Sultan of Sokoto yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to use the opportunity of his visit to Maiduguri scheduled for tomorrow to grant amnesty to Boko Haram fighters in order to restore peace in the North.

Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar spoke in Kaduna at the opening of the annual central council meeting of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), which was attended by senior traditional rulers and Muslim leaders from across the country.

This is the first time the Sultan publicly canvassed amnesty for members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lid Da’awati Wal Jihad, though he had previously urged for dialogue between government and the sect.

Abubakar said President Jonathan should use the few members of the sect who denounced terrorism to reach out to others who have yet to do that. He was apparently referring to a Boko Haram faction which announced a ceasefire recently but was later disowned by sect leader Abubakar Shekau.

“I want to use this opportunity to advise the President, as we heard he is planning to visit Borno State on Thursday, to see how he can declare total amnesty to all combatants without thinking twice,” said the Sultan, who is President-General of the JNI.

“This will make any other person who picks up arms to be termed as a criminal. If the amnesty is declared, it will make all those who have been tired of running and hiding to come out and embrace the amnesty.

“Some of them have already come out. In fact, we heard stories in the papers that some have come out. Even if it is one person that denounces terrorism, it is the duty of the government to accept that person because he can be used to reach others. Whether it is true or not, the government should accept that person first and then interrogate him to see if he really belongs or not.

“Some people think we are not doing anything as leaders in the North. No, we have done enough and I want to commend all of you in what you have been doing. We will continue to do so despite criticisms because we know what we are doing.  In sha Allah we will continue to talk with the government to be just in whatever they do.”

He said the JNI was committed to peace and would therefore continue to advise the political authorities on the way forward.

“We want to tell our political leaders and religious leaders the truth on the way forward for this country. We will continue to advise the government at all levels. If they do what they ought to do, Alhamdulillah (Thanks be to God). If they don’t do we will continue to tell them to do the right thing because it is our duty to tell them,” he said.

Continue & Read more from The Daily Trust
Published on Wednesday, 06 March 2013 05:00
Written by Ismail Mudashir (Kaduna), Hamza Idris, Ibrahim Sawab (Maiduguri) & Hamisu Kabir Matazu (Damaturu)

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Nigeria's Boko Haram says no peace talks, spokesman arrested

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - The purported leader of Boko Haram, the Islamist sect in Nigeria, has denied government statements the group is involved in peace talks and has said its spokesman Abu Qaqa has been captured by security forces.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has said the authorities were in dialogue with Boko Haram via back channels and that this was helping neutralise the threat the sect posed.

But Abubakar Shekau, the group's leader, said in a video posted on YouTube on Sunday that no such talks were going on.

"Let it be clear that we never sought dialogue or to sit down with government agents or representatives ... they (Nigerian leaders) will never know peace while they attack our members."

The sect is widely considered to be the biggest security threat in Africa's biggest oil exporter. It has been blamed for more than 1,000 deaths since its insurgency - which is aimed at carving out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria - intensified in 2010.

Shekau also said the sect's spokesman was being detained by the security forces.

"Our spokesman, Abu Qaqa is alive but with the security agents, but I believe strongly that after this message from me they may decide to kill him this night," Shekau said.

It was the first public statement on the matter by the militants since a raid, which it says led to Qaqa's arrest but not his death.

Senior security sources said on September 16 that troops had killed a man identified as "Anwal Kontagora, alias 'Abu Qaqa'", whose pen name is often used to claim responsibility for the sect's pronouncements from its base in the northeast of the country.

Shekau said security forces had also begun to arrest militants' wives. The release of sect members held by the security forces has been one of Boko Haram's main demands.

There were two bomb blasts on Monday in Maiduguri, the home town of Boko Haram in the remote northeast. One witness said seven soldiers had been killed in one blast but the military said only two of its officers had been wounded.

The military has often been accused of playing down the casualties Boko Haram inflicts, while exaggerating the number of sect members it kills and captures.

A recent military crackdown appears to have weakened the sect and there has not been a repeat of large-scale coordinated attacks seen earlier this year.

from REUTERS
Tue Oct 2, 2012 5:33am GMT

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Nigerian forces say kill 20 Islamists in shootout

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces killed 20 suspected militants of the Boko Haram sect in a shootout on Sunday as they raided an Islamist hideout in the country's northeast, a security officer said.

One soldier was also killed in the shootout in Maiduguri, the capital of the Borno state, the officer said.

Boko Haram, an Islamist group styled on the Taliban, is waging an insurgency against the government with a view to creating an Islamic state in Nigeria, a country of more than 160 million split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.

Security forces had intelligence that some members of the group were holding a gathering at a location in Maiduguri, said Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, field operations officer of the military and police mixed Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno.

"When we approached the venue of their meeting point, the terrorists opened fire on the JTF, which led to the killing of 20 terrorists while we lost one soldier and two others sustained injury," he said.

Boko Haram did not comment and it was not possible to independently confirm the report.

The Islamists have killed hundreds in gun and bomb attacks in Nigeria, Africa's top energy producer, since they launched their uprising in 2012.

The violence has centred on the Borno state and other areas of the predominantly Muslim north, although it has spread outwards across central Nigeria and struck the capital Abuja in the past year. Suspected sect members opened fire on Christian worshippers in the central state of Kogi on Monday, killing 19.

A military crackdown on the sect in the past few months has had mixed results, apparently weakening it but also fuelling resentment against President Goodluck Jonathan's government in a poor region that has often felt left out of the country's oil wealth, concentrated in the south.

On Saturday, Nigerian security forces discovered a bomb-making factory in Kano, the north's biggest city.

The death of Boko Haram's leader in police custody in 2009 is largely seen as what triggered the uprising.

from REUTERS
Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:55am GMT

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Nigeria security forces raid bomb factory in Kano

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces discovered a bomb-making factory on Saturday in Kano, a northern city that has been plagued by an Islamist insurgency, the secret service said.

Boko Haram, a group styled on the Taliban, is waging an insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan's government with the avowed aim of carving an Islamic state out of Nigeria, a country of more than 160 million split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.

The group has killed hundreds in gun and bomb attacks in the past two and a half years, mostly in the predominantly Muslim north, although it has struck central Nigeria and the capital Abuja.

The director of the Kano branch of Nigeria's State Security Services (SSS), Bassey Eteng, said the raid had uncovered 12 improvised bombs and bomb-making chemicals, more than 600 rounds of ammunition, military uniforms and eight AK-47 assault rifles.

"Most of the items recovered were going to be used to mount an attack on Sallah (Muslim holiday), according to our intelligence report," Eteng said.

"There was no casualty of any party during the operations. An investigation to find the terrorists continues."

A military push in the north appears to have weakened the group. However, Jonathan's critics say he relies too much on the military to defeat Boko Haram, rather than addressing northerners' grievances such as poverty and unemployment.

As Boko Haram comes under pressure in its northeastern heartland, its attacks have spread further afield. Suspected Islamists opened fire on Christian worshippers in the central state of Kogi on Monday, killing 19.

from REUTERS
Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:00am GMT

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Boko Haram kills four in Nigeria church attack: police

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Mon Apr 30, 2012(Reuters) - Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram killed four people in an attack on a Sunday church service in the northeast town of Maiduguri, police said on Monday, adding to the death toll from a separate shooting in the country's second largest city Kano.

Gunmen killed at least 15 people and wounded many more at a Christian service in Kano on Sunday, the latest round of violence which has seen hundreds killed in the mostly-Muslim north of Nigeria this year.

No group took responsibility for either attack and it was not clear if they were coordinated. But both strikes bore the hallmarks of the Boko Haram sect, which has used bomb and gun attacks in its push to carve out an Islamic state in Africa's most populous nation.

"Boko Haram who were six in number came in a Volkswagen Golf car and shot the pastor and three others while they were about to administer the Holy Communion to worshippers," Maiduguri police spokesman Samuel Tizhe said.

Maiduguri is the capital of northeast Borno state, Boko Haram's home region and the location of the majority of its attacks, which mostly target the police and military but have also hit churches and drinking spots.

In the attack in Kano on Sunday, gunmen arrived on motorbikes at a university lecture theatre used for Christian services and threw small homemade bombs into the building before shooting fleeing worshippers.

"President Goodluck Jonathan condemns the murderous terrorist attack on the Bayero University Campus in Kano yesterday and the brutal killing of innocent worshippers at the University by vicious assailants," a presidency statement said.

Jonathan has been criticized by Nigerians and foreign diplomats for failing to get a grip on the sect's wave of violence, which has gained momentum since his presidential election victory a year ago.

Most of Boko Haram's attacks focus on authority figures it believes have wronged the group by arresting or killing its members.

Nigeria's more than 160 million population is split roughly equally between a largely Christian south and a mostly Muslim north.

(Reporting by Ibrahim Mshelizza; Additional reporting by Felix Onuah in Abuja; Writing by Joe Brock; editing by Patrick Graham)

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Explosion wounds 20 in eastern Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, April 30 (Reuters) - A bomb blast wounded at least 20 people in the eastern Nigerian city of Jalingo on Monday, one day after two deadly attacks in other parts of the country, an emergency agency and a witness said.

"The blast was between the state ministry of finance and police headquarters," Ibrahim Farinloye, local head of the National Emergency Management Agency, told Reuters.

A witness told Reuters the blast could have been targeting the police commissioner who drove past shortly before. He said he saw dead bodies and that at least 20 people were taken to hospital.

Jalingo is the capital of usually peaceful Taraba state.

On Sunday, at least 19 people were killed in two attacks on Christian worshippers elsewhere in Nigeria. A university theatre used for services in the northern city of Kano and a church in northeast Maiduguri, Boko Haram's home town, were attacked by gunmen.

Boko Haram has been fighting against President Goodluck Jonathan's government for more than two years. Its attacks usually target police and government in the mostly Muslim north of Africa's most populous nation.

(Reporting by Ibrahim Mshelizza; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Death toll rises to 11 after suicide attack hits church in Nigeria

JOS, Nigeria, March 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people have been confirmed dead after a suicide bomb blast rocked a church in central north Plateau State, sources said on Sunday.

State police spokesperson Samuel Dabia and the Medical Director, Plateau Specialist Hospital Matawwal Bitrus, confirmed this to Xinhua on phone from Jos, the state capital, adding that 22 other people were injured.

The deaths included the two suicide bombers and two motorcyclists who were mobbed at the scene.

The Red Cross said it had taken 22 people injured in the blast to various hospitals in Jos metropolis.

Suicide bombers on Sunday attacked St. Finbar's Catholic Church in Jos by ramming a vehicle into the fence of the Church.

The Church Parish Priest, Rev Fr. Peter Umorem said the attack happened 10 minutes into the 10:00 a.m, local time. "I was at the altar when I heard a loud explosion. Suddenly things were falling all over, and there was pandemonium in the Church," he said.

"Some members grabbed me and rescued me to a safe place. I later learned that it was a suicide attack and that the bomber tried to enter through the gate but was prevented," he added.

There is no immediate claim of responsibility from any group. National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has cordoned the scene where the explosion occurred.

A military spokesperson Capt. Markus Mdahyelya said they are responding to emergency issues.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the suicide bombing, saying the government would continue to progressively destroy terrorists' ability to unleash murderous attacks on peaceful and law-abiding Nigerians.

The Nigerian leader also conveyed his sympathies and condolences to the victims of the odious acts in a statement reaching Xinhua in Abuja.

The president urged Nigerians and friends of the country to keep faith with the government, assuring them that the Federal Government is doing everything possible to end the spate of mindless attacks and killings in parts of the country.

Churches have been repeatedly targeted in Nigeria since late last year, occasionally triggering flare between the Christians who mostly live in the south and the Muslims in the north. The militant Boko Haram sect responsible for the bombings in northern Nigeria burnt down some local assembly churches, a police station and a local government secretariat in an overnight raid early in the month in the west African country's northeastern state of Borno.

In July, Boko Haram gave a three-day ultimatum to Christians to leave the Muslim-dominated north, threatening further bloodshed if otherwise.

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Hostage Rescue Operation in Nigeria Stresses Italian-British Relations

Italy and Britain are trying to smooth over a diplomatic tension caused by a failed attempt to rescue two hostages in northwest Nigeria by saying it's urgent that Britain share information about the mission.

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi discussed the issue with his British counterpart William Hague at an informal meeting Friday in Copenhagen.

Italy has been incensed that it was not advised by Britain ahead of the operation to rescue an Italian and a British hostage from their captors. Italian national Franco Lamolinara and his British colleague Chris McManus were both killed Thursday during the British-Nigerian rescue operation in Sokoto.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said Britain's decision not to consult or inform Italy was “inexplicable” and asked for an explanation.

“They did not inform or consult with Italy in respect of this forceful action, which could have – and in the end did have – this unfortunate consequence. A political and diplomatic clarification is necessary.''

Hague defended his country's decision. He told reporters in the Danish capital that there was no time because of the urgency of the situation.
“Because it was a very quick decision yesterday, that we had to make a decision very quickly, had to go ahead with this operation, we had very limited time, that constrained how much we were able to consult others. We were able to inform the Italian government as the operation got underway, but not to do more than that. But I think everybody understands the constraints involved, the rapid timing involved in a case like this, and I will be able to discuss it, of course, with my Italian colleague here at this meeting today.”

Hague is in Copenhagen for an informal meeting of European Union ministers.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday he approved the operation after getting information of the men's location and that their lives were in “imminent and growing danger.”

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has blamed the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram for the kidnappings and said that some kidnappers have been arrested. But Boko Haram on Friday denied any involvement in the kidnapping of the two hostages who were killed during the deadly rescue operation.

British and Nigerian officials say they believe the captors were from an al-Qaida-linked splinter cell of Boko Haram, rather than from the group's main leadership.

The hostages were kidnapped in May in northern Nigeria, where they were working for an Italian construction company. They later appeared in an Internet video with armed gunmen who claimed to be with the al-Qaida terrorist network.

Kidnappings are not uncommon in Nigeria's delta region, where tensions over oil profits run high, but they are rare in northwestern Nigeria where Sokoto is located, near the border with Niger.

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Fresh Nigerian shooting kills 20

LAGOS, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A fresh shooting attack from a Muslim sect had claimed 20 lives in northeast Nigeria on Friday, a local police officer has said.

The attack came as a spate of sect shooting and bombing attacks in the country's north over the past weeks.

The attack, which happened in Mubi in Adamawa state, had targeted a hall where a group of Igbo traders were meeting, the state police commissioner Ade T. Shinaba told local media.

He blamed the radical sect known as Boko Haram for the killing.

Two persons have been killed and three others wounded by unidentified gunmen in motorbikes in Mubi on Thursday evening and the Igbos were meeting to handle their corpses, according to local residents.

The attack came barely few days after a state of emergency was announced by the Nigerian government in some parts of Borno, Yobe, Niger and Plateau States. Adamawa was not listed among the flashpoint states.

Spokesperson of the Boko Haram sect Abu Qaqa on Sunday issued a three-day ultimatum to non Muslims and residents from the southern states of Nigeria living in north of the West African country to vacate the area or face the wrath of the group.

Boko Haram is apparently responding to the state of emergency declared on Saturday by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Boko Haram launched the first attack in Maiduguri in July 2009, during which many were killed and wounded with property destroyed. The sect's leader known as Yusuf and his alleged financier Buji Foi were killed in a counter-attack by the security operative.

More than 800 people including security personnel have been killed in violence linked to suspected Boko Haram militants.

The frequent spate of violent attacks especially on innocent souls in north Nigeria is worrisome, partly for its reflection of the dastard state of insecurity in the land.

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• 20 Igbo traders killed by suspected Boko Haram gunmen in Mubi, Adamawa State (saferafricagroup.com)

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