Maiduguri, Nigeria - Nigeria's military on Saturday repelled a Boko Haram attack on the key north-eastern city of Maiduguri, hours after President Muhammadu Buhari took office vowing to crush the Islamist group.
The overnight attack on the Borno state capital saw rocket-propelled grenades fired into homes in a bombardment that reportedly lasted several hours.
The fighting was most heavily concentrated in the Dala suburb to the south of the city.
"It was a nightmare," Dala resident Malam Yusuf told AFP. He said his own home was hit and his wife's foot was "blown off."
"RPGs kept flying and falling on homes," he said.
While some residents recounted bodies being removed from targeted homes, no one was able to provide a precise death toll and emergency workers in Borno were not available to comment.
In his inaugural speech after taking the oath of office on Friday, Buhari described Nigeria's Islamist rebels as a "mindless" and "godless" group that would ultimately be destroyed.
He announced plans to reinforce Maiduguri with a new command and control centre to better coordinate the counter-insurgency effort; a move analysts said signalled his commitment to intensifying the fight.
It was not clear if Boko Haram's fresh assault on the strategically crucial city was timed to come hours after the inauguration.
But the new president will likely be tested repeatedly in the coming months by a militant group that has proved resilient over its six-year uprising.
AFP
