Boko Haram kills 150 in two new attacks

A military source said that the first of the two attacks took place at a township called Kukawa near Lake Chad on Wednesday, killing at least 97 people. The exact location of the second attack in the state of Borno could not be established immediately, but AFP reported 48 casualties dating back to Wednesday as well. The area is known as susceptible to frequent attacks.

A local by the name of Kolo, who witnessed Wednesday's attack and gave a similar death toll, described the events to news agency AFP: "The attackers have killed at least 97 people. They wiped out the immediate family of my uncle. They killed his children, about five of them, and set his entire house ablaze," Kolo said.

Another witness said that more than 50 militants had stormed the village early Wednesday evening before, saying that nobody was spared: "The terrorists first descended on Muslim worshippers in various mosques who were observing the Maghrib prayer shortly after breaking their fast," Babami Alhaji Kolo said.

"They opened fire on the worshippers who were mostly men and young children. In fact, while some of the terrorists waited and set most of the corpses on fire, others proceeded to houses and shot indiscriminately at women who were preparing food," he added.

Details on the second attack were only coming in by Thursday evening. It is unclear whether the two attacks were coordinated or otherwise synchronized. Local politician Mohammed Tahir said that in addition to the dead there were also 11 who were injured.

Bloody month following vote

Boko Haram has considerably revved up its terror campaign since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in June. Elected on a platform promising to end extremism, Buhari's short time in office has already been tainted by several attacks.

Boko Haram's insurgency has claimed at least 15,000 victims since 2009 and has since spilled over to neighboring countries including Chad, which has conducted air raids on known Boko Haram strongholds.

In 2014, Boko Haram had managed to seize 30,000 square kilometers (11,500 square miles) of territory - an area about the size of Belgium. The militant group has since lost much of its gains following several military campaigns.

ss/msh (AFP, Reuters)