At least two civilians were killed and 13 others injured when jihadists attacked a military checkpoint in northeast Nigeria, a local government spokesman and residents said Tuesday. However local residents said three people from the same family were killed during the fighting when a rocket-propelled grenade hit their home nearby. In recent weeks, ISWAP, an off-shoot of Boko Haram, has intensified deadly attacks in the northeast, targeting soldiers but also mounting fake checkpoints and killing and abducting civilians. On Sunday dozens of ISWAP jihadists made a failed attempt to overrun the city of Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe State. The decade-long insurgency in northeast Nigeria has killed 36,000 people according the UN and displaced a further two million, sparking a prolonged humanitarian crisis.

Source: Punch December 24, 2019 12:56 UTC