Boko Haram Islamists stormed a boarding school in northeast Nigeria overnight and burned it to the ground, killing 29 boys, authorities said Tuesday.
The attack was on the Federal Government college of Buni Yadi, a secondary school in troubled Yobe state, Reuters reported.
Boko Haram militants tend to attack schools that teach Nigeria’s national curriculum which they consider to be Western, BBC reported.
“Some of the students bodies were burned to ashes,” said Police Commissioner Sanusi Rufai.
The military for Yobe state would not confirm the number of people killed, but spokesman Capt. Lazarus Eli confirmed the attack.
“Details are still sketchy due to lack of telephone access, and it is still not clear how many students were affected in the attack,” he told Agence France-Presse.
“Our men are down there in pursuit of the killers,” he said, according to Reuters.
Boko Haram, which in Islam means “Western education is sinful,” has frequently attacked schools in the past.
Tuesday’s attack is close to where militants killed more than 40 students in September.
More than 200 people were killed in two attacks last week, one in which militants destroyed a village and gunned down residents as they tried to escape.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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