Gunmen attack police post in restive northern Nigeria

LAGOS (AFP) - Militants armed with guns and explosives attacked a police station in northeastern Nigeria late Thursday, police said, amid a wave of similar attacks blamed on Boko Haram Islamists.

The attackers stormed the police post in Adamawa state's town of Gulak, which is roughly 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the capital Yola, state police spokesman Nemuel Yoila told AFP.

"The police station was attacked by a group of gunmen who threw explosives into the police station and opened fire," Yoila said, adding that the building was destroyed by the subsequent blaze.

"Details are still sketchy, so it is still not clear if there were casualties," he added.

The spokesman did not say who was responsible for the raid, but the attack was similar to those carried out by Boko Haram, which has repeatedly hit northeastern Nigeria and has frequently targeted the police.

In March, also in Adamawa state, the extremist Islamist group launched a bomb and gun attack on a police installation in the town of Shuwa, killing three officers.

Days later, another police officer was killed when suspected Islamists bombed a police post in the town of Demsa.

On Tuesday, three policemen were shot dead in neighbouring Taraba state when gunmen attacked a regional police headquarters in the town of Wukari.

Boko Haram is responsible for more than 1,000 deaths across northern and central Nigeria since the middle of 2009.

The group has previously said it wants to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, but its stated demands and grievances have varied widely as its insurgency has intensified in recent months.