Abuja on alert over Boko Haram threat

ABUJA: Nigerian authorities said Islamist group Boko Haram was planning to carry out suicide attacks in the capital.

Security services said Boko Haram had concluded plans to attack crowded places, particularly churches, mosques and markets, in the coming days, using teenage girls as suicide bombers.

Boko Haram has killed about 13 000 people and kidnapped hundreds since it launched its campaign of violence in 2009, trying to establish an Islamist state.

Nigerian troops have retaken most of the territory previously held by Boko Haram in operations this year, but bomb attacks persist, causing heavy civilian casualties.