Nigeria: 14 Boko Haram militants killed in Kano raid
A young herdsman leads cattle to a farm in northern Nigeria’s Kano state.
Nigerian soldiers said they killed 14 suspected Islamist militants during a raid on a house in the northern city of Kano, Nigeria, today, according to Voice of America. The casualty figures have not been independently verified.
The military said the men belonged to extremist group Boko Haram and had been planning an Easter Sunday attack in the city.
"This operation was conducted following a tip-off from our intelligence," military spokesman Iliyasu Abbah told Reuters.
One Nigerian soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in the raid, the military said, according to VOA.
According to Reuters:
Security was stepped up in northern Nigerian cities this weekend to cope with an increased threat posed by Islamist groups during Christian holidays, when churches have been targeted by suicide bombers.
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Nigerian officials say Boko Haram, whose members want an independent Islamic state in northern Nigeria, have killed about 1,400 people in central and northern Nigeria since 2010, BBC News reported.
In Jan. 2012, the group killed at least 185 people in Kano in a series of bombings and shootings, BBC News reported.