DALORI, Nigeria -- A survivor who hid in a tree said he watched Boko Haram extremists firebomb huts and heard the screams of children burning to death among 86 people officials say died in the latest attack by Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremists.
Scores of charred corpses and bodies with bullet wounds littered the streets from Saturday night's attack on Dalori village and two nearby camps housing 25,000 refugees, according to survivors and soldiers at the scene, 3 miles from Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and the biggest city in Nigeria's northeast.
The shooting, burning and explosions from three suicide bombers continued for nearly four hours in the unprotected area, survivor Alamin Bakura said. He said several of his family members were killed or wounded.
The violence continued as three female suicide bombers blew up among people who managed to flee to neighboring Gamori village, killing many people, according to a soldier at the scene who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to journalists.
Troops arrived at Dalori about 8:40 p.m. Saturday but were unable to overcome the attackers, who were better armed, said soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists. The Boko Haram fighters only retreated after reinforcements arrived with heavier weapons, they said.
Journalists visited the scene Sunday and spoke to survivors, who complained it had taken too long for help to arrive from nearby Maiduguri, the military headquarters of the fight to curb Boko Haram. They said they fear another attack.
Eighty-six bodies were collected by Sunday afternoon, according to Mohammed Kanar, area coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency. Another 62 people are being treated for burns, said Abba Musa of the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri.
Boko Haram has been attacking soft targets, increasingly with suicide bombers, since the military last year drove them out of towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria.
Boko Haram has killed about 20,000 people and displaced more than 2 million Nigerians in a seven-year campaign to establish its version of Islamic law in Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer. The group was beaten back from territories it held early last year but continues to carry out suicide bombings and hit-and-run attacks on soft targets such as markets and bus terminals.
Information for this article was contributed by Bloomberg News.
A Section on 02/01/2016