Nigeria: Gunmen Kill 12 in Attacks in the Northeast

Gunmen attacked two Christian villages in the mainly Muslim region of northeastern Nigeria over the weekend and killed at least 12 people, witnesses said Monday. Survivors of the attacks in Borno State said eight people were killed when gunmen fired on a wedding party on Saturday night in Tashan-Alede, and four were killed Sunday in the nearby village of Kwajaffa. A security official confirmed the attacks but did not have casualty figures. Also over the weekend, soldiers fighting to put down the Islamic uprising in the region reported that they had killed at least 57 insurgents in air raids and ground assaults in Borno State, near Nigeria’s border with Chad, the military said. “Air and land bombardments are continuing in different locations where terrorists have been reportedly sighted,” a Defense Ministry statement said Monday. The report could not be immediately verified.