Heavily armed gunmen kill at least 13 people in northern Nigeria

Apr 17, 2007, 15:51 GMT

Abuja - Nigerian authorities deployed troops and police to the northern city of Kano Tuesday after scores of Islamists stormed a police station, killing at least 13 people before the weekend's presidential elections.

A police spokesman in Kano, Baba Mohammed, said the assailants were around 40 men, women and their children, but other reports said they numbered at least 300.

'The gunmen and women are still in some strategic areas, but troops have been deployed to dislodge them. They were well-armed with guns and other dangerous weapons,' he said.

Mohammed said the attackers, who call themselves the Taliban, did not appear to have any political motive.

The fundamentalists had earlier advised residents to evacuate the town because they would not differentiate between civilians and troops.

'We are fighting government institutions and not individuals,' a witness quoted one of them as saying.

The assailants attacked the Panshekara police outpost and killed 12 police officers and one of their wives. The government had imposed a curfew on the state after Saturday's gubernatorial elections because of ongoing protests and violence.

The attack came days before presidential elections on April 21 as tensions were on the rise throughout the country.

Mohammed said police were trying to calm frayed nerves in the area and said the assailants would soon be arrested.

A combined team of soldiers and police officers sealed off all roads leading to the town, preventing people from reaching the area.

The incident on Tuesday came four days after a prominent Islamic cleric in the state, Sheik Ja'afar Mahmood Adam, was assassinated by unidentified assailants.