25 killed in attacks in northern Nigeria: securtity sources

KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - At least 25 people were killed Sunday when suspected Islamists threw a bomb and fired on a beer garden in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, security officers and witnesses said.

Two attackers on motorcycles, suspected of being members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, threw bombs and fired several shots indiscriminately on a crowded tavern in a suburb of the city, the sources said.

The attack, which targeted pub drinkers, also injured dozens, said police and military sources who did not want to be named.

"The attackers believed to be Boko Haram members threw bombs and fired indiscriminate gun shots on a packed tavern at Dala Kabompi neighbourhood, killing at least 25 people and seriously injuring around 30 others," a police superintendent said.

The attackers fled the scene, said the police official on the phone from Maiduguri, capital of northeastern Borno State.

"It will be difficult to say with precision the number of casualties but it can't be less then two dozen," said an army captain in the city.

A witness, Emmanuel Okon, who sells roast beef locally called 'suya' on the fringes of the tavern, described the chaos and panic caused by the attack.

"I just heard a loud bang followed by sporadic shootings and plumes of black smoke filled the area with people screaming and running in all directions," said Okon who rushed to his home after the attack.