Boko Haram launches twin attacks in Niger, Cameroon

Boko Haram insurgents from Nigeria bombed a Niger
border town, killing five people, and carried out attacks in
neighbouring Cameroon, kidnapping a bus full of passengers,
military and local sources said on Monday.
The jihadist sect has killed thousands of people and kidnapped
hundreds in a bid to impose its rule, and stepped up cross-border
incursions into Cameroon.
An intensification of attacks near Lake Chad - a crossroads
between Nigeria, Chad, and Niger - has sent tens of thousands of
Nigerians fleeing across the borders. The escalating crisis
prompted Nigeria to postpone its 14 February presidential
election.
With the army struggling to contain the militants, bordering
countries have launched a regional offensive against them,
spurring a series of revenge attacks inside Niger and Cameroon.
Car bomb
Boko Haram militants stormed a prison in Diffa overnight and set
off a car bomb near a customs office in the town, shortly before
Niger's parliament was due to ratify participation in the regional
offensive, witnesses said. Five people were killed in the bomb
explosion and five others seriously injured, Niger security sources
said.
Heavy gunfire carried on through the day as Niger's army
repelled the assault, Boko Haram's third on Diffa in four days. A
member of the national guard said about 100 suspected Boko
Haram militants were in prison in Niger, but none in Diffa.