Terror strikes Nigeria again, Boko Haram suspected

Terror struck Nigeria again when suspected Boko Haram militants targeted policemen in the northern city of Damaturu Monday.

A source confirmed to Al Jazeera that gunmen believed to be Boko Haram fighters attacked the Yobe State University in Damaturu.

The country's military was reported to have engaged the terrorists and chased them away.

The insurgents were shooting sporadically and triggering off explosives, the Nation online reported.

Some students and university staff were reported to be holed up in a bush, where the country's military had engaged the militants.

Residents of the city largely remained indoors while the military was deployed around the area.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

According to a Xinhua report, the military has sent a fighter jet to the town.

"The fighter jet is hovering around now trying to dislodge them but they are shooting, using civilians as shield," a police source said.

Two bombs also went off Monday at a market in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, the Daily Post online reported.

The Monday market was the same location where two female suicide bombers detonated explosive devices last week, killing several people and injuring many more.

The extent of the blast and the level of casualties though are not yet known.

The latest attacks come a day after scores of people were killed after suspected Boko Haram fighters raided Shani town.

Shani is located in Nigeria's Borno state, the heartland of Boko Haram's five-year insurgency, which has displaced more than one million people.

The raid also follows a suicide bomb and gun attack on a mosque in the northern city of Kano Friday, which bore all the hallmarks of a Boko Haram attack and left at least 120 people dead, according to some accounts.

The armed group is fighting to revive an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria's north.