25 Killed in Series of Attacks in East Nigeria

Twenty-five people were killed in eastern Nigeria when attackers blasted a jail, a police station and a bank with bombs, machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades, police said Saturday.

"We have 25 dead from yesterday's attacks in Ganye, which included a chief prison warder, a policeman and a prominent politician," said Adamawa state police chief Mohammed Ibrahim.

The gunmen attacked the prison, set free an unspecified number of prisoners, looted a bank and attacked two open-air taverns, a prison official and police said.

They used explosives and assault rifles in their assault on the police station, during which they shot dead a policeman, Ibrahim said.

He said seven people were shot dead in the tavern, six near the bank, while others were gunned down either outside their homes or on the streets.

It was not immediately known how much money the gunmen took from the bank.

Adamawa prison chief Andrew Barka confirmed the attack on the prison but declined to give details.

"The gunmen used bombs, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the attack on the prison, the police station, the bank and some beer parlors," Ibrahim said.

Troops and policemen deployed to the troubled town recovered three unexploded bombs, a Kalashnikov rifle and some rounds of ammunition left by the attackers, the police chief said.

No arrests have been made following the attacks, he said.

Although he declined to say if the attackers were members of the Islamist Boko Harm sect, the raids resembled previous ones claimed by the sect in parts of the north.

Criminal gangs are also known to have carried out similar attacks under the cover of the sect.

Ganye town is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the state capital, Yola.