LAGOS 

Suspected Boko Haram militants have launched a daring attack on a town in Nigeria's northeastern Yobe state, setting some public and private buildings ablaze, a local official said Saturday.

A gang of Boko Haram militants stormed Damagun, a bustling town and the headquarters of Fune Local Government, at 6:00 pm local time on Friday and attacked the divisional police station and a military unit in the town, local chief Digma Gana told reporters.

He said the insurgents came in large numbers to raid the town and clashed with security forces in it.

"[But] the attack was repelled through the joint efforts of the military troops and police," he said.

Gana said the insurgents destroyed a number of facilities, including the local government's education department, the office of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), two Toyota Hilux vehicles belonging to the area council and the guesthouse of the Fune Emir.

No casualties were reported in the attack.

Gana said that security troops "fought gallantly to repel the attack."

Jubril Grema, a local resident, said that the insurgents had burned some shops in the town and carted away foodstuffs.

"They came in large numbers, chanting "Allah Akbar," the man said. "They rode in Hilux vehicles, more than six, but it's difficult to know the exact number because of the confusion," he told AA.

"I laid under my bed throughout the shooting," he added.

Damagum is located along a major highway from Maiduguri, Boko Haram's birthplace, to the northwest Kano city, where two bombers ran into a major mosque in late November, killing over 100 worshippers.

Friday's attack came nearly two years after Boko Haram militants raided a public school at the outskirts of the town in April 2012, killing over 40 students.

www.aa.com.tr/en