Villagers feared dead as gunmen open fire in Nigeria

Unknown gunmen opened fire Saturday on a village in the northeastern Nigerian state of Yobe, with some residents feared dead, the state police commissioner said. "A group of unknown gunmen stormed Dogon Kuka village and opened fire on residents. From all indications, they were on a shooting spree. From reports reaching us, some people might have been killed," Patrick Egbuniwe told AFP. The state police commissioner said he could not put a figure on the number of deaths. "I don't have details yet but we have deployed security personnel to the village to ascertain the nature and extent of the attack," he said. He declined to say if the attackers were members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has been blamed for a string of deadly attacks in several parts of Yobe and neighbouring Borno state. The village, inhabited mainly by Muslims, is about 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Damaturu, the state capital.