KANO, Nigeria (AFP) – Gunmen opened fire on police guarding Christian worshippers at a church in northern Nigeria, killing one and wounding two others in the latest such attack in the region, police said Monday.
The Sunday night attack occurred in Maiduguri, where suspected members of an Islamist sect have carried out a series of killings in recent months, including Christmas Eve attacks on churches.
Police, however, could not say who was behind the shootings.
"Unknown gunmen arrived in a tinted car around 8:00 pm and opened fire on two policemen guarding the church," said police spokesman Lawal Abdullahi.
"A fire exchange took place for about 10 minutes between the policemen and the assailants. Worshippers were in the church praying at the time of the attack."
He said "a policeman was killed and two other people, including the church security guard, were seriously injured."
The gunmen fled, though arrests were made in connection with the attack, said Abdullahi.
Suspected members of an Islamist sect that launched an uprising last year have carried out a series of attacks in northern Nigeria in recent months.
The group claimed responsibility for attacks on three churches in Maiduguri on Christmas Eve that left six people dead.
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