20 feared dead in Nigeria Boko Haram attack

At least 20 people are feared dead in a fresh attack by members of the Boko Haram sect in northeast Nigeria's Borno State, a top security source said on Friday. Bulablin Ngaura along Damboa-Maiduguri road, where about 15 people were recently killed, came under attack again, this time claiming the lives of 17 civilians and three policemen, said the source who craved anonymity. "The policemen escorting a bullion van belonging to a bank in the area were hit by the gunmen who tried to intercept the vehicle on Thursday," the source said. The other 17 victims were identified as motorists plying the Damboa end of the road, 58 km away from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. Abu Balami, a resident who witnessed the massacre, said the gunmen were armed to the teeth. The revelation about Boko Haram's latest attack came more than 48 hours after the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) claimed they picked about 87 corpses from nearby bushes and highways after the insurgents attacked Benisheik area of the state on Tuesday. Activities of the Boko Haram sect have recently been on the increase in Borno, a state in the northeastern region of Nigeria, which shares a border with Cameroon, Niger and Chad. In April, the Nigerian government tried to broker a ceasefire with the sect but failed. The Boko Haram sect seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the constitution and declares war against the Western education.