Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kill Muslim emir, policemen in Nigeria

Gunmen suspected to be from Boko Haram, the armed group that kidnapped 276 Nigerian schoolgirls last month, killed a traditional Muslim emir and two policemen in northeastern Nigeria on Friday in an attack on a convoy, the state government said.

Despite a yearlong military offensive against it, Boko Haram, which is fighting to reinstate an ancient Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria, has been able to run riot across the northeast and bomb cities across the country.

The Emir of Gwoza, a jurisdiction in the country’s northeast, was traveling in the convoy with two emirs from other areas to attend a funeral when gunmen opened fire on their car.

Alhaji Idrissa Timta died from gunshot wounds and two policemen were killed in the raid, while the other two emirs managed to escape, a source at the Emir of Uba's palace told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

"The Emir of Gwoza was killed around 9 a.m. today following a bloody attack by some gunmen believed to be members of the Boko Haram," the Borno state government said in a statement. Two sources earlier told Reuters the emir had been kidnapped.

"The emirs of Uba and Askira ran into the bush and they were not seen for a long time, making people believe they had been kidnapped. But they were discovered after some time," the palace source said, adding that most of the vehicles in the convoy were destroyed.

Another source said earlier that the military had been deployed to the area.

On Thursday, in the northeastern village of Gurmushi near Nigeria's border with Cameroon, suspected Boko Haram gunmen riding motorbikes killed 32 people.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said on Thursday he had ordered a full-scale operation against Boko Haram and sought to reassure parents of the more than 200 schoolgirls still being held by the group that their children would be freed.

Boko Haram has been kidnapping schoolgirls and forcing them to become "brides" for commanders for more than a year, but the attack on the town of Chibok last month shocked the world and prompted an international effort to free the girls.

Since April 14, when the girls were taken, at least 500 civilians have been killed by the militants, according to a Reuters count.

Reuters