Boko Haram Attacks Police Post in Cameroon, Shoot Officers, Free Inmates

Cameroon - Suspected Boko Haram sect insurgents have today attacked the town of Kousséri in the Far North Province of Cameroon, killing at least one security personnel at a local paramilitary police post and setting free the detainees.

According to Sahara Reporters, two security guards were killed and two high-profile insurgents set free in the course of the attack. AFP, however, quote their security source as saying one police officer and a detainee were shot to death. The insider adds that suspected Boko Haram isurgents raided the post in the night, escaping the scene with an inmate they were looking for and other people who were in the same cell.

As reported by Cameroon's state radio, about 30 suspected insurgents raided the police post at about 2 a.m. local time, killing at least one gendarme. The attackers freed a suspected Boko Haram militant and escaped with several weapons. Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the government's spokesman, confirmed the attack to Reuters, but said the authorities still were waiting for more details.

Nigeria's neighbours Niger and Cameroon have reported that Boko Haram "preachers" often cross borders to lure young persons into becoming members of the sect. The far north of Cameroon is frequently the scene of cross-border attacks by Boko Haram. Boko Haram has been blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by the United States.