Italian officer allegedly killed by American teens was stabbed with knife brought from US, say police - CNN

General Francesco Gargaro, of the Provincial Carabinieri Command, said the weapon was brought to the country by the 19-year-old suspect, Finnegan Lee Elder.

Gargaro added that some of the wounds sustained by the fallen officer, Mario Cerciello Rega, were "very big, 17 centimeters (7 inches) deep, the length of the blade."

Rega was killed Friday in Rome shortly after returning to work from his honeymoon. The 35-year-old was attempting to recover a backpack allegedly stolen by Elder and Gabriel Natale Hjorth, 18, after a botched drug deal, say officers. Police said that Elder confessed in the early hours of the interrogation on Friday to murder.

Meanwhile, Rega's funeral was being held in his hometown of Somma Vesuviana, near Naples, on Monday. His casket was draped with the Italian flag as it was carried into the same church where he was married less than two months ago.

Deputy Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who has called for life-long prison sentences for the accused teens, attended the service.

The officer's death has gripped Italy -- the story is leading many of its newspaper headlines -- and hundreds of people gathered outside the church to pay their respects.

Botched deal

The incident unfolded after the two US citizens approached a man about buying drugs, according to police. After being sold crushed aspirin instead of cocaine, officers allege that the Americans stole a backpack off the man.

The teenagers subsequently answered the owner's cellphone, which they had also taken, and told him "they would not return the backpack without 100 euros ($111) and 1 gram of cocaine," police added.

The owner of the stolen bag then contacted the police and two unarmed plainclothes officers met the American suspects under the guise of retrieving it, police said.

Both Americans are accused of assaulting the policemen, who reportedly identified themselves as law enforcement officers during the meeting early on Friday morning. Elder is accused of stabbing Rega 11 times before fleeing the scene.

The two Americans were arrested Friday evening inside their hotel room, close to the scene of the stabbing. They are accused of aggravated murder and attempted extortion, police said.

At the hotel room, police said they found the weapon hidden in a ceiling panel as well as the clothes worn during the crime.

Elder recognized the knife police say is the murder weapon "as his own," according to court documents seen by CNN.

'Contrasting' statements

The two suspects have turned on each other, according to those documents. The teenagers accuse each other "reciprocally" and their stories are "absolutely in contrast" with one another, the documents said.

They also add that Hjorth's testimony is closer to the police's version of events. Elder is accused of the stabbing, though both are being held on suspicion of murder.

Over the weekend, the police alleged that both Americans confessed to taking part in the assault, and say Elder confessed in the early hours of the interrogation on Friday to murder.

Elder's appointed public prosecutor, Francesco Codini, said that during his court appearance Saturday his client "maintained his right to remain silent" in front of a judge.

Elder's family said in a statement that they haven't been able to have any communication with their son and appealed to the public to respect their privacy. "We are working with the US State Department, but they have not been granted access to Finn," it added.

The family plans on going to Rome as soon as the State Department says they can see Finnegan.

"We are also aware of the funeral plans for Officer Rega, and wish to be respectful of his family and friends at this devastating time," the statement added.

Elder's father, Ethan Elder, spoke briefly with CNN outside his San Francisco home Sunday and called his son's case a "precarious situation." Ethan Elder says he wants people to know his son is "a good man."

Italian police can legally hold suspects for an entire year without official charges.

Suspect blindfolded

The arrests have also raised questions over a leaked photo that appears to show one of the American suspects blindfolded at a police station in Rome. The photograph was leaked to the respected Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Suspect Hjorth's lawyer, Emiliano Sisini, confirmed to CNN that his client was the blindfolded suspect in the picture. He does not know how long Hjorth was blindfolded for, but said the incident took place before his interrogation.

Italian police have confirmed the authenticity of the photo, and told CNN that a two-pronged investigation has been launched into why the suspect was blindfolded and who leaked the photo to the press.

"The general command of the Carabinieri police strongly distances itself from the photo and the distribution of the photo of the people detained for the homicide of the Officer Mario Cerciello Rega. The provincial Carabinieri command of Rome is quickly carrying out investigations to locate who is responsible," police said in a statement Sunday.

Salvini commented on the blindfold photo Sunday, saying in a statement: "To those complaining about the blindfolding of the arrested, remember that the only victim to cry for is the man, the son, the husband who is 35 years old, a Carabinieri officer, a servant of the homeland who died in service at the hands of the people who, if guilty, deserve only life imprisonment."

The day before, Salvini had called for life-long prison sentences for the accused teens, despite them not having been put on trial.

"Hoping that the murderers of our poor policeman will never get out of prison, I remind the do-gooders that in the United States whoever kills risks the death penalty. I'm not saying we should go that far, but life in prison (obviously working), this, yes!" Salvini wrote in a message on Twitter on Saturday.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla, Barbie Latza Nadeau, Karen Smith and Sarah Dean contributed to this report.

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2019-07-29 12:10:00Z
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China accuses Hong Kong protesters of committing 'evil and criminal acts' - CNN

At a press conference in Beijing on Monday, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office spokesman Yang Guang called the situation in Hong Kong "grave," adding that Beijing would not allow any challenge to the Chinese government's authority or threats to national security.

"No civilization or society under the rule of law would ever allow acts of violence to take place. We call on the general public of Hong Kong to be aware of the grave nature of the current situation," Yang said, calling on Hong Kong citizens to condemn protester violence.

"Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong. Hong Kong's affairs are China's domestic affairs," he added. Hong Kong has been governed under a "one country, two systems" model since the city transferred from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

It was the first time China's top Hong Kong policy office had given a briefing on the mass demonstrations that began in early June in opposition to a controversial -- and now-shelved -- bill that would have allowed extradition from the city to mainland China.

Yang also used the event as an opportunity to reaffirm China's strong support for Hong Kong's leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, and the city's police force, which has been the target of many protesters' ire for deploying what they believe to be heavy-handed tactics.

Jimmy Shum, of the Civil Human Rights Front, which has organized many official protests in recent weeks, called the press conference "disappointing":

"As an agency with the power to dismiss Carrie Lam, it did not call for her to step down. So the press conference wasted Hong Kong people 40 minutes of their time," Shum said.

Eight weeks of unrest

Mass protests have now been happening in Hong Kong, a major global financial hub, for eight consecutive weeks.

Protesters' demands over that period have broadened to encompass issues such as greater democracy for the city, an inquiry into alleged police brutality and the resignation of Lam.

The demonstrations have also steadily escalated in terms of violence and rhetoric.

On July 1, protesters trashed the Hong Kong Legislative Council offices, the city's seat of government. On July 21, an armed mob at Yuen Long train station, in the north of the city, attacked people in a subway station, many of whom were protesters returning from a march police had broken up in the central Hong Kong. The mob was wearing white, while most of the demonstrators were clad in black, the color of the protest movement.

Last Saturday, protesters staged a march in the small town of Yuen Long, near Hong Kong's border with China, where they clashed with riot police. On Sunday night, much of downtown came to a standstill after riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who had defied a police ban to march through the city.

Beijing has previously denounced the protesters in state media, including their decision to target the Chinese government's headquarters in the city on July 21. State-run news agency Xinhua called the demonstrators "radical protesters" and said their actions were an "open challenge to the central government's authority."

"If this can be tolerated, what can not?" Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily said in an editorial.

At a Ministry of Defense briefing last week, spokesperson Wu Qian said the Chinese military was watching the situation in Hong Kong closely.

When asked if the Chinese military would intervene, Wu referenced a law that allows the Hong Kong government to request assistance to maintain public order from Beijing's military garrison in the city -- a point Yang repeated at Monday's press conference when asked by CNN.

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2019-07-29 11:04:00Z
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China Shows Support for Hong Kong Police and Leader as Protests Continue - The New York Times

BEIJING — The Chinese government on Monday laid down its firm support of Hong Kong’s embattled leader and police force but failed to offer any clear solutions after two months of rolling protests that have flared into violence and stoked opposition to Chinese rule.

Chinese officials made a strongly worded defense of the local Hong Kong authorities during a rare news conference in Beijing by the government office that oversees policy toward the city. But they failed to address the demonstrators’ demands for more accountability in the police force and a greater say in the city’s future, which could pave the way for more unrest.

“Hong Kong cannot afford to have instability,” Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told reporters. “Should the chaos continue, it is the entire Hong Kong society that will suffer.”

Protest organizers quickly said the briefing could feed the momentum of the demonstrations by reinforcing the widely held perception that Beijing and the city’s leadership are oblivious to the will of Hong Kong’s residents.

The remarks by Chinese officials on Monday came days after a People’s Liberation Army spokesman hinted that military force could be used to bring to heel the antigovernment demonstrations that have become regular events in Hong Kong since June. The demonstrations have repeatedly spiraled into violent melees as smaller groups of more confrontational protesters have faced off with police officers who have used tear gas and clubs against them, including this past weekend.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Yang expressed support for the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, and the police, who have come under criticism for what protesters say is the excessive use of force against demonstrators. Later, another official at the news conference, Xu Luying, emphasized that the central government would continue to support Mrs. Lam “in governing under the law, and unifying and leading Hong Kong people from all walks of life to defend Hong Kong’s political situation of prosperity and stability.”

Image

A television at a Hong Kong restaurant showing a news conference in Beijing by Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.CreditAnthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Yang also said the Hong Kong government should work on addressing economic issues including challenges with employment and schooling, a housing crisis, and the rising cost of living.

[Hong Kong has the world’s longest working hours and highest rents.]

The news briefing appeared aimed at dousing the wave of opposition in Hong Kong — the most sustained challenge to China’s hold over the territory since 1997, when Britain returned it to Chinese sovereignty.

By emphasizing its support for Mrs. Lam but also her responsibility in upholding the law, central government officials seemed to indicate that it was now up to Mrs. Lam, her administration and the police to put an end to the months of strife.

The news briefing also appeared aimed at signaling that the ruling Communist Party in Beijing is watching developments in the territory very closely and wants to frame the unrest as the work of the party’s enemies, as well as economic strains, and not a result of failings in its policies toward Hong Kong.

Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the Center for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the officials’ emphasis on providing job and business opportunities in the mainland for the youth of Hong Kong was Beijing’s way of “throwing money at the problem.”

“There was no sign of tackling the crux of the issue, which is lack of democratic development in Hong Kong,” Mr. Lam said. “No new solutions were provided.”

Image

Tens of thousands of people have been taking part in protests in Hong Kong on recent weekends.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

The protests crystallized around opposition to proposed legislation that would have opened the way to extraditions of criminal suspects from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland. Many Hong Kongers distrust the Chinese mainland’s courts and police, which are controlled by the Communist Party, and opposition was widespread.

After huge demonstrations in early June, Mrs. Lam, the Beijing-backed chief executive of Hong Kong, suspended the proposed law indefinitely. But the protesters have continued taking to the streets of Hong Kong every week, especially on weekends, demanding a full withdrawal of the legislation and voicing a wider array of grievances.

[“We cannot give up”: Protesters, government supporters and others spoke to us about their experiences.]

Mrs. Lam has refused to make any further concessions and her advisers have indicated that the administration is confident it can ride out further protests, despite the escalating unrest and signs that the economy could suffer. Political tensions and the worsening trade war between the United States and China have already driven down Hong Kong stocks more than 5 percent since early April, and by the end of the day Monday shares were down more than 1 percent.

China had promised to give Hong Kong wide-ranging autonomy after 1997, including maintaining its independent courts and other freedoms that set it apart from mainland China. But many Hong Kong residents say their city’s distinctive status has been sharply eroded, especially under Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012.

The demonstrators are increasingly angered by the lack of democratic government, a ruling class that has become more beholden to Beijing than to Hong Kong, and what protesters and some experts have said are excessively heavy-handed methods used by the police to subdue crowds.

Image

Protesters attacking the doors of the Legislative Council building earlier this month.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Government critics in Hong Kong said the comments did nothing to address the concerns of the public at large, and instead were directed at Mrs. Lam’s administration and its supporters.

“We believe this press conference was not for the Hong Kong people to watch,” said Bonnie Leung of the Civil Human Rights Front, which has organized several large marches. “It is for the government and also the pro-government camp and the police force.”

The Chinese government and its supporters in Hong Kong have focused their outrage on the demonstrators, especially those who have attacked government buildings and hurled bricks and steel poles at the phalanxes of police officers. The anger from Beijing grew after protesters vandalized the outside of the Chinese government liaison office in Hong Kong, including throwing paint on the national emblem.

The cycle of protests and forceful police response continued over the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds of demonstrators who had come out to denounce a mob attack on protesters and what they say is a police force that acts without accountability.

On Monday, the Chinese government defended the city’s police force. “We understand the huge pressure facing the Hong Kong police and their families, and would like to salute the Hong Kong police who have been fearlessly sticking to their posts and fulfilling their duties against all odds,” Mr. Yang said.

Mr. Yang also condemned the violence of Saturday’s protest, in which demonstrators ripped off fences and moved steel barricades to form blockades, and threw hard objects at the police. But Mr. Yang did not specifically address the mob attack that had prompted that rally in the first place, deferring to earlier comments from the police. He appeared to dismiss as “unfounded” the fears some have that organized crime societies are colluding with the authorities to carry out political violence.

Reports in the Chinese state news media have also defended the Hong Kong police and even urged them to take more forceful measures.

“Hong Kong police must no longer be like gentle nannies when they’re enforcing the law,” an editorial in the overseas edition of People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main newspaper, said on Monday.

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2019-07-29 09:33:45Z
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China’s Government Shows Support for Hong Kong Police and Leader as Protests Continue - The New York Times

BEIJING — The Chinese government on Monday laid down its firm support of Hong Kong’s embattled leader and police force after two months of rolling protests that have flared into violence and inflamed opposition to Chinese rule.

Chinese officials made a strongly worded defense of the local authorities during a rare news conference in Beijing by the government office that oversees policy toward Hong Kong.

It came days after a People’s Liberation Army spokesman hinted that military force could be used to bring to heel the antigovernment demonstrations that have flared in Hong Kong since June. The demonstrations have repeatedly spiraled into violent melees as smaller groups of more confrontational protesters have faced off with police officers who have used tear gas and clubs against them, including this past weekend.

“Hong Kong cannot afford to have instability,” Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told reporters. “Should the chaos continue, it is the entire Hong Kong society that will suffer.”

Image

A television at a Hong Kong restaurant showing a news conference in Beijing by Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.CreditAnthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In his opening remarks at the news briefing, Mr. Yang expressed support for the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, and the police, who have come under criticism for what protesters say is an excessive use of force against demonstrators.

Mr. Yang also said the local government should work on addressing economic issues including challenges with employment and schooling, a housing crisis, and the rising cost of living.

The news briefing appeared aimed at dousing the wave of opposition in Hong Kong — the most sustained challenge to China’s hold over the territory since 1997, when Britain returned it to Chinese sovereignty.

The protests crystallized around opposition to a proposed legal bill that would have opened the way to extraditions from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland. Many Hong Kongers distrust the Chinese mainland’s courts and police, which are controlled by the Communist Party, and opposition was widespread.

After huge demonstrations early in June, Mrs. Lam, the Beijing-backed chief executive of Hong Kong, suspended the proposed law indefinitely. But the protesters have continued taking to the streets of Hong Kong every week, especially on weekends, demanding a full withdrawal of the legislation and voicing a wider array of grievances.

Image

Tens of thousands of people have been taking part in protests in Hong Kong on recent weekends.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Mrs. Lam has refused to make any further concessions and her advisers have indicated that the administration is confident that it can ride out further protests, despite the escalating unrest and signs that the economy could suffer.

By emphasizing its support for Mrs. Lam yet also emphasizing her responsibility in upholding the law, the central officials also seemed to offer another message: that it was now up to Mrs. Lam, her administration and the police to put an end to the months of strife.

Political tensions and the worsening trade war between the United States and China have already driven down Hong Kong stocks more than 5 percent since early April. Hong Kong’s shares were down more than 1 percent midday on Monday, with property companies taking the biggest hit.

China had promised to give Hong Kong wide-ranging autonomy after 1997, including independent courts and much greater freedoms than in mainland China. But many Hong Kong residents say their city’s distinctive status has been sharply eroded, especially under Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012.

The demonstrators are increasingly angered by the lack of democratic government, a ruling class that has become more beholden to Beijing than to Hong Kong, and with what protesters and some experts have said are excessively heavy-handed methods used by the police to subdue crowds.

Image

Protesters attacking the doors of the Legislative Council building earlier this month.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

But the Chinese government and its supporters in Hong Kong have focused their outrage on the demonstrators, especially those who have attacked government buildings and hurled bricks and steel poles at the phalanxes of police. The anger from Beijing grew after protesters vandalized the outside of the Chinese government liaison office in Hong Kong, including throwing paint on the national emblem.

The cycle of protests and forceful police response continued over the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds of demonstrators who had come out to denounce a mob attack on protesters and what they say is a police force that acts without accountability.

On Monday, the Chinese government defended the city’s police force. “We understand the huge pressure facing the Hong Kong police and their families, and would like to salute the Hong Kong police who have been fearlessly sticking to their posts and fulfilling their duties against all odds,” Mr. Yang said.

Chinese official media reports have suggested that nefarious “hostile Western forces” — rather than heartfelt anger among Hong Kong residents — are behind the protests. And they have also defended the Hong Kong police, and even urged them to take more forceful measures.

“Hong Kong police must no longer be like gentle nannies when they’re enforcing the law,” an editorial in the overseas edition of People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main newspaper, said on Monday.

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2019-07-29 07:37:56Z
52780337830224

China’s Government Shows Support for Hong Kong Police and Leader as Protests Continue - The New York Times

BEIJING — The Chinese government on Monday laid down its firm support of Hong Kong’s embattled leader and police force after two months of rolling protests that have flared into violence and inflamed opposition to Chinese rule.

Chinese officials made a strongly worded defense of the local authorities during a rare news conference in Beijing by the government office that oversees policy toward Hong Kong.

It came days after a People’s Liberation Army spokesman hinted that military force could be used to bring to heel the antigovernment demonstrations that have flared in Hong Kong since June. The demonstrations have repeatedly spiraled into violent melees as smaller groups of more confrontational protesters have faced off with police officers who have used tear gas and clubs against them, including this past weekend.

“Hong Kong cannot afford to have instability,” Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told reporters. “Should the chaos continue, it is the entire Hong Kong society that will suffer.”

Image

A television at a Hong Kong restaurant showing a news conference in Beijing by Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.CreditAnthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In his opening remarks at the news briefing, Mr. Yang expressed support for the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, and the police, who have come under criticism for what protesters say is an excessive use of force against demonstrators.

Mr. Yang also said the local government should work on addressing economic issues including challenges with employment and schooling, a housing crisis, and the rising cost of living.

The news briefing appeared aimed at dousing the wave of opposition in Hong Kong — the most sustained challenge to China’s hold over the territory since 1997, when Britain returned it to Chinese sovereignty.

The protests crystallized around opposition to a proposed legal bill that would have opened the way to extraditions from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland. Many Hong Kongers distrust the Chinese mainland’s courts and police, which are controlled by the Communist Party, and opposition was widespread.

After huge demonstrations early in June, Mrs. Lam, the Beijing-backed chief executive of Hong Kong, suspended the proposed law indefinitely. But the protesters have continued taking to the streets of Hong Kong every week, especially on weekends, demanding a full withdrawal of the legislation and voicing a wider array of grievances.

Image

Tens of thousands of people have been taking part in protests in Hong Kong on recent weekends.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Mrs. Lam has refused to make any further concessions and her advisers have indicated that the administration is confident that it can ride out further protests, despite the escalating unrest and signs that the economy could suffer.

By emphasizing its support for Mrs. Lam yet also emphasizing her responsibility in upholding the law, the central officials also seemed to offer another message: that it was now up to Mrs. Lam, her administration and the police to put an end to the months of strife.

Political tensions and the worsening trade war between the United States and China have already driven down Hong Kong stocks more than 5 percent since early April. Hong Kong’s shares were down more than 1 percent midday on Monday, with property companies taking the biggest hit.

China had promised to give Hong Kong wide-ranging autonomy after 1997, including independent courts and much greater freedoms than in mainland China. But many Hong Kong residents say their city’s distinctive status has been sharply eroded, especially under Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012.

The demonstrators are increasingly angered by the lack of democratic government, a ruling class that has become more beholden to Beijing than to Hong Kong, and with what protesters and some experts have said are excessively heavy-handed methods used by the police to subdue crowds.

Image

Protesters attacking the doors of the Legislative Council building earlier this month.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

But the Chinese government and its supporters in Hong Kong have focused their outrage on the demonstrators, especially those who have attacked government buildings and hurled bricks and steel poles at the phalanxes of police. The anger from Beijing grew after protesters vandalized the outside of the Chinese government liaison office in Hong Kong, including throwing paint on the national emblem.

The cycle of protests and forceful police response continued over the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds of demonstrators who had come out to denounce a mob attack on protesters and what they say is a police force that acts without accountability.

On Monday, the Chinese government defended the city’s police force. “We understand the huge pressure facing the Hong Kong police and their families, and would like to salute the Hong Kong police who have been fearlessly sticking to their posts and fulfilling their duties against all odds,” Mr. Yang said.

Chinese official media reports have suggested that nefarious “hostile Western forces” — rather than heartfelt anger among Hong Kong residents — are behind the protests. And they have also defended the Hong Kong police, and even urged them to take more forceful measures.

“Hong Kong police must no longer be like gentle nannies when they’re enforcing the law,” an editorial in the overseas edition of People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main newspaper, said on Monday.

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2019-07-29 07:34:22Z
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Suspected Boko Haram attack on a funeral leaves 65 dead in Nigeria, official says - CNN

The attack occurred Saturday during a burial in the Nganzai district, near the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said.

Twenty-one people were initially killed during the burial ceremony, Bulama said. An additional 44 people were killed when villagers ran after the assailants, the official said.

At least 10 people were injured in the attack. Eight of them were critically wounded and were being treated at an area hospital, he said.

Boko Haram militants have inhabited the northern states of Nigeria for the past decade. The terror group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

The group has bombed churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders.

In January, the escalating violence forced 30,000 Nigerians to flee the country over a two day period, the UN refugee agency said.

CNN's Stephanie Busari reported from Lagos and journalist Isaac Abrak reported from Abuja. CNN's Sophie Sherry and Braden Goyette wrote from Atlanta and Los Angeles.

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2019-07-29 07:29:00Z
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Suspected Boko Haram attack on a funeral leaves 65 dead in Nigeria, official says - CNN

The attack occurred Saturday during a burial in the Nganzai district, near the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said.

Twenty-one people were initially killed during the burial ceremony, Bulama said. An additional 44 people were killed when villagers ran after the assailants, the official said.

At least 10 people were injured in the attack. Eight of them were critically wounded and were being treated at an area hospital, he said.

Boko Haram militants have inhabited the northern states of Nigeria for the past decade. The terror group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

The group has bombed churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders.

In January, the escalating violence forced 30,000 Nigerians to flee the country over a two day period, the UN refugee agency said.

CNN's Stephanie Busari reported from Lagos and journalist Isaac Abrak reported from Abuja. CNN's Sophie Sherry and Braden Goyette wrote from Atlanta and Los Angeles.

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2019-07-29 06:39:00Z
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