Militants attack barracks in Nigeria

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Dozens of insurgents attacked a military barracks in the troubled northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri in an apparent attempt to free detained rebels, government officials said.

It was unclear how many prisoners were freed in the attack on the Giwa barracks, which left dozens dead, authorities said.

No group claimed responsibility for the assault, which bore hallmarks of raids on jails and military barracks by Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Boko Haram, which has employed the tactic to free hundreds of its partisans.

Fighting lasted several hours. Nigerian military spokesman Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade said that the military had the situation under control and that most of the casualties were militants, which could not be independently confirmed.

Olukolade described the attack as a bid by terrorists “to boost their depleted stock of fighters.” Authorities have said in recent weeks that Boko Haram is close to defeat, a claim they have made before.

“The attack has been successfully repelled with heavy human casualty on the terrorists,” Olukolade said in a statement.

The attackers reportedly managed to penetrate the barracks and free some prisoners, but many of those were killed as they tried to escape, according to local reports.

Olukolade said four soldiers were injured.

Gruesome photographs of more than a dozen bodies, reportedly from the barracks, surfaced on Nigerian social media Friday. The authenticity of the images could not be verified.

Local media reported that Nigerian jets had attacked the f leeing insurgents.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people, including civilians, in recent years, in its bid to establish an Islamic state throughout Ni- geria, a country divided between Muslims and Christians. Several states in the predominantly Muslim north have adopted Islamic law.

Boko Haram launched an attack this month on a crowded market in Maiduguri, killing more than 50 people.

Late last month, an attack that authorities attributed to the group killed dozens of students in a school dormitory near Damaturu in northeastern Yobe state. Some victims’ throats were cut as they tried to flee.

Human Rights Watch on Friday called on Boko Haram to halt its attacks, which have killed more than 700 people this year.

The rights group has criticized Nigerian authorities’ handling of the crisis, saying its scattershot approach after attacks has led to civilian casualties and cemented local support for Boko Haram. “Horrific conditions” in the Giwa barracks have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of detainees from dehydration, illness and beatings, the group has said.