Nigerian Islamist Attacks Spread

Dozens of people have been killed after Islamist militants staged three attacks in northern Nigeria, taking the total killed in two days of violence to 150.

A BBC reporter has counted 100 bodies, mostly of militants, near the police headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno State, where hundreds are fleeing their homes.

Witnesses told the BBC a gun battle raged for hours in Potiskum, Yobe State and a police station was set on fire.

Some of the militants follow a preacher who campaigns against Western schools.

ANALYSIS
By Caroline Duffield, BBC News, Nigeria

Tensions are never far from the surface in northern Nigeria. Poverty and competition for scarce resources, along with ethnic, cultural and religious differences have all fuelled sudden violence.

But the latest violence is not between communities, it involves young men from religious groups, arming themselves and attacking local police.

Fringe religious groups in Nigeria have claimed links to the Taliban before - individuals have also been accused of links to al-Qaeda. But Nigeria is very different to countries like Mali or Algeria, where groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operate.

The idea of radical Islamist militants gaining a serious foothold in Nigeria is usually dismissed, because of the strength of local identities and traditions.

The preacher, Mohammed Yusuf, says Western education is against Islamic teaching.

There has also been an attack in Wudil, some 20km (12 miles) from Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria.

A curfew is in force in Bauchi, the scene of Sunday's violence.

Sharia law is in place across northern Nigeria, but there is no history of al-Qaeda-linked violence in the country.

Nigeria's 150 million people are split almost equally between Muslims and Christians and the two groups generally live peacefully side by side, despite occasional outbreaks of communal violence.

Militants chanting "God is great" attacked the Potiskum police station at about 0215 local time (0115 GMT) - the same time as the raid was launched in Maiduguri.

The police station and neighbouring buildings in Potiskum have been razed to the ground, eyewitnesses say.

Two people have been confirmed dead and the police have made 23 arrests.

Fringe group

The corpses of civilians are scattered around the streets of Maiduguri, after being pulled from their cars and shot, eyewitnesses say.

The police and army are patrolling, firing into the air, apparently trying to clear civilians from the area.

There are unconfirmed reports of a jailbreak in the town.

In Wudil, three people have been killed and more than 33 arrested. The senior police officer in Wudil has been wounded.

Security is said to have been beefed up in Plateau State, to the south of Bauchi, where hundreds were killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians last year.

Mr Yusuf's followers in Bauchi are known as Boko Haram, which means "Education is prohibited".

They attacked a police station on Sunday after some of their leaders were arrested.

Correspondents say the group is seen locally as a fringe group and has aroused suspicion for its recruitment of young men, and its belief that Western education, Western culture and science are sinful.

A Deadly Month for U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Four American soldiers were killed by a roadside explosion in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, making July the deadliest month for American service members in the country since the 2001 invasion and underscoring the frightening rise in the sophistication and accuracy of roadside bombs.

With the four newest fatalities, at least 30 Americans have died in the first three weeks of July, surpassing the highest previous monthly toll, 28, reached in June 2008.

Part of the reason for July’s sharply higher fatalities — for American troops and for British and other NATO forces — is the three-week-old offensive in opium-rich Helmand Province, where United States Marines and British soldiers are trying to take control of areas dominated by the Taliban.

But the most significant factor is the increasing power of roadside bombs employed by guerrillas in eastern and southern Afghanistan, including Helmand.

The bombs are generally not as powerful as the improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.’s, used by Iraqi guerrillas, who drew on huge stockpiles of artillery shells the Pentagon left unguarded. In later years, Shiite insurgents also employed explosively formed penetrators, a more precisely machined bomb that launched a fist-size molten ball that could pierce the thickest armor.

By contrast, Afghan guerrillas have fewer tools at their disposal — yet the toll of I.E.D. deaths continues to rise just as it did as the Iraqi insurgency grew stronger in 2005.

Twenty-one American soldiers have died from I.E.D. blasts so far this month, according to data recorded by icasualties.org, which tracks military deaths. Six more Americans were killed by fire from Kalashnikovs or other guns, rockets, mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades. Two Air Force officers were killed when their F-15E fighter jet crashed on Saturday, and a sailor died from pneumonia earlier this month, according to the group’s Web site.

The military tallies do not include Afghan civilians regularly killed by I.E.D.’s often intended for Western or Afghan forces. On Sunday at least 10 Afghan civilians died in Farah Province along the Iranian border when a minibus and truck were struck by two hidden bombs, authorities said. “The Taliban are planting mines on roads in which both officials and civilians are traveling, but often civilians are the victims,” said Lt. Col. Juma Khan, an Afghan commander in Farah.

Taliban fighters do have access to mortar shells and military munitions, but many bombs are made from rudimentary ingredients like fertilizer and diesel fuel. Such bombs are less effective, but with enough fertilizer and diesel, Afghan guerrillas have shown they can destroy almost anything American forces operate in the rugged countryside.

And the Taliban exploit environmental factors: Afghanistan has few paved roads, making it easier for insurgents to bury bombs with no trace. Moreover, the new mine-resistant vehicles effective at protecting troops from I.E.D.’s in Iraq have struggled on Afghanistan’s uneven and craggy landscape. The Pentagon is developing a lighter and less cumbersome version.

Even before Monday’s American fatalities crossed a new threshold, July had already become the deadliest month for the entire NATO-led coalition: At least 56 coalition troops have died this month, surpassing the previous high of 46 recorded in June and August 2008, according to icasualties.org. Two out of every three coalition deaths in July have been from I.E.D.’s.

The British military has lost 17 soldiers this month, all but one in Helmand Province. Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe, the 39-year-old commander of the First Battalion of the Welsh Guards, was killed by an I.E.D. on July 1, the most senior British commander to die in battle since the Falklands war.

Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar.