LAGOS
Dozens are believed to have been killed in a Monday morning attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in the village of Dille in Nigeria's northeastern Borno State, local residents and security sources have said.
"I cannot say the exact number of casualties for now because the attack is ongoing," Yau Ndilimi Haruna, a member of a local civilian vigilante group that coordinates with the army, told Anadolu Agency by phone.
"So far, I have counted more than 13 lifeless bodies," he said. "It could be far higher, because the attack began around 6am."
Haruna said at least three churches and several shops had been torched in what he described as an "indiscriminate campaign of violence" in Dille.
The village is located in Borno State's Askira Uba local government area.
Abdul-Jabbaru Idrissa, another member of the local vigilante group, also confirmed the attack.
"Our members in the area have informed us of the attack in which the terrorists reportedly deployed heavy weapons like anti-aircraft guns, rocket propelled grenades and explosives," Idrissa told AA.
"We heard that many people have been killed and that the military has deployed to the area," he said.
"I'm told that two aircraft were indeed deployed for the rescue operation, but details are not so clear yet," added Idrissa.
Army spokesman Chris Olukolade tacitly confirmed troop deployments to the village, but refrained from elaborating.
"There is an ongoing operation in that location," Olukolade told AA on Monday afternoon without giving further details.
The attack came hours after Boko Haram reportedly released a video claiming responsibility for past attacks in Abuja and Lagos.
The Nigerian army announced on Thursday that three soldiers and "scores" of Boko Haram militants had been killed in clashes near Borno State capital Maiduguri.
The army had recently claimed major victories against the militants, saying it had killed more than 100 of them while arresting numerous others – including some foreign nationals.
Nigeria is fighting a five-year-old insurgency that has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced, especially in its restive northeastern region.
The three northern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe all remain under emergency rule in a bid to curtail militant activity.
Boko Haram – already outlawed and designated a terrorist organization by Nigeria, Turkey and the U.S. – is typically blamed for the violence plaguing Nigeria's northeast.
The militant sect has also been blamed for a recent spate of bomb attacks in capital Abuja and other northern cities.
Thought to have been established in the early 2000s by late Islamist leader Mohammed Yusuf, the group gained notoriety in the wake of violence prompted by Yusuf's death in police custody in 2009.
It has since been blamed for numerous attacks on security personnel, public infrastructure and houses of worship.
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