At least 15 dead after Boko Haram attack in Nigeria

On Sunday, at least 15 people were killed after Boko Haram extremists opened fire and detonated explosive belts in a village near the city of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria.

Maiduguri is the birthplace of Boko Haram, and Sunday's attack was the first time in months the area was targeted, The Associated Press reports. Witnesses in the village of Duwari said the attack started when insurgents in the back of three trucks started throwing grenades at people and firing at random. As villagers began to run, a woman ran up and yelled "Boko Haram, Boko Haram," and then blew herself up; later, another woman also detonated a suicide device while standing with a family.

The village is close to Giwa Barracks, a military base that has been attacked by Boko Haram several times in the past. Nigerian media reports that earlier on Sunday, Nigerian troops "intercepted and destroyed" 10 suicide bombers in "three different locations approaching" Maiduguri.

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