Boko Haram attack leaves over 50 dead and sees 100 inmates freed from jail

Suspected members of the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram armed with machine guns laid siege on the northeastern town of Bama, freeing over 100 prison inmates and leaving 55 people dead, the military said.  Around 200 heavily armed members of Boko Haram arrived in buses and pickup trucks and carried out a coordinated strike, first hitting the army barracks and the police station before breaking into the town's prison, military spokesman Sagir Musa reported.

Musa said 22 police officers, 14 prison officials, two soldiers and four civilians were killed, while 13 of the group's own members died, in what was one of the rebel's most deadly single strikes since a 2009 uprising.

Gunmen freed 105 prisoners during the raid which began at around 5am and lasted almost five hours, Musa said. Some of the attackers were seen to be dressed in army uniforms.

Bama's police station, army barracks and government buildings were set ablaze.

"They came in army uniform pretending to be soldiers but were able to detect them," Musa said. - Telegraph