13 killed in northern Nigeria attacks

YOBE, Nigeria - Nigerian military authorities on Sunday said at least 13 people were killed in the various violent attacks carried out within three days in Potiskum, a restive town in northeastern Yobe state.

State spokesperson of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) Lt. Lazarus Eli told reporters that the 13 persons included two serving policemen, a retired policeman and his three children, four civilians, a retired custom officer and his son, as well as a suspected Boko Haram member.

"Five of the militants were shot dead by military troops and their bodies were taken away by fellow sect members," said the military officer who confirmed that the attacks were carried out by the Boko Haram sect in the west African country.

Many of the militants might have escaped with severe gun injuries, he added.

Lazarus said security forces would continue to search for bodies of the sect members that were shot dead in the fierce gun battle with the military.

Military sources had told Xinhua on Friday that many people were feared dead in overnight gun battle between security forces and militants of the Boko Haram sect in Yobe.

Militants of the sect staged an uprising in the northeastern city of Maiduguri in 2009, attacking state institutions including prisons, police stations and schools. More than 1,500 people have been reportedly killed ever since, either in the attacks or clashes with local security forces.