Nigeria News: Islamic extremists blamed for killing member of parliament
Nigeria has increased its security following a number of deadly attacks by Boko Haram, a group of Islamic extremists. Here a Nigerian soldier interrogates motorcyclists at a checkpoint in Kaduna State.
Nigeria's Boko Haram, an Islamic extremist group, is blamed for assassinating a member of parliament in the northeastern Borno state and an attack on an army barracks.
MP Modu Bintube was shot dead at his home Sunday evening in the state capital, Maiduguri, report police, according to the BBC.
Bintube was standing outside his home when he was shot dead, said Borno state police commissioner Simeon Midenda.
"The pattern of the killing is similar to that of how Boko Haram members are targeting their victims," said Midenda, according to the French news agency, AFP. Borno state is in the northeast corner of Nigeria near the borders with Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Nigerian police also accused Boko Haram militants of bombing an army barracks in neighboring Gombe state earlier on Sunday. Several explosives detonated at a police barracks in Gombe, police said. Police reported that a gun battle followed in which a police sergeant and three suspected militants were killed.
Boko Haram, which is fighting for the imposition of Islamic Shariah law in Nigeria, has carried out a wave of bombings and killings in Nigeria. The militant group has targeted police chiefs, government officials and churches. Boko Haram has heightened the sophistication of its attacks in recent months, according to Reuters.
In August, it bombed the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, killing at least 23 people.
Foreign and Nigerian officials believe the sect has been strengthening ties with Al Qaeda's North African wing, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).