Here yet again an explicitly devout Islamic group engages in violence. Why is it that those who most loudly proclaim their adherence to the Religion of Peace get it so drastically wrong? “Nigeria: 5 die as police, suspected Islamic fundamentalists clash in Nigeria,” from Afrique en ligne, December 6 (thanks to Twostellas):
Lagos, Nigeria – Five persons, including three innocent bystanders and two suspected members of the Islamic fundamentalist group Boko Haram, were killed as police engaged gunmen from the group in a gun battle in Maiduguri, capital of northern Borno state, over the weekend. The local media Monday quoted the Borno State police command as saying six others sustained injuries during the gun battle, triggered off when the gunmen attacked members of the state security outfit, tagged ‘Operation Flush’.
The three innocent bystanders were hit by stray bullets, the report said, adding that the gunmen escaped with the bodies of their slain colleagues.
The authorities deployed armed troops to Maiduguri in October to forestall the resurgence of Boko Haram Islamists, whose attacks in several states in the north in 2009 left over 800 dead, as the military used force to quell the attacks.
Gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram (which means Western education is forbideen [sic]) have recently engaged in a series of high-profile killings and attacks on police stations in the state, which is the group’s base.