Terrorist attack on Nigeria military base leaves at least 20 dead

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Fighters linked to the radical Islamic terrorist network Boko Haram attacked a military base in Nigeria’s north on Sunday in an assault that left at least 20 people dead, as the network’s leader rejected peace talks with Nigeria’s government.

The attack in the village of Monguno, 125 miles from the city of Maiduguri, punctuated the video statement by Abubakar Shekau that said Nigeria will remain under attack by the group until the multiethnic nation is ruled under Islamic law.

The attack Sunday, coupled with the recent kidnappings of foreigners claimed by Boko Haram and its affiliates, prompted fresh doubts about the ability of Nigeria’s weak central government to stop the bloodshed, despite its deployment of more security forces in the region.

“Whoever kills any of our members should await a grave retaliation from us,” Shekau said in the video in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north. “We will continue waging war against them until we succeed in establishing an Islamic state in Nigeria.”

In the attack on Monguno, fighters arrived in SUVs and killed a local village leader, witnesses said. The fighters later attacked a barracks at Monguno with gunfire and explosives, witnesses said.

In a statement, military spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said that 20 “Boko Haram ter- rorists” were killed, without acknowledging that at least one civilian had been killed. Musa also did not say if any soldiers had been wounded or killed. Nigeria’s military routinely downplays civilian and soldier casualty figures.

Another security official confirmed the attack had occurred but acknowledged that details remained sketchy.