One dead as religious convoy ambushed by Nigeria's Boko Haram

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The Nigerian insurgent group Boko Haram was blamed for an attack on a convoy of religious travelers in which one person was killed.

The convoy was traveling on Saturday from Monguno to Maiduguri in Nigeria's Borno state, a distance of about 85 miles, to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Adha when gunmen opened fire. The driver of one vehicle was killed, and two women and a child in his vehicle were injured, an eyewitness told the Al-Masdar Al-Arabi news organization.

The convoy included vehicles laden with rams, animals to be used in a ritual sacrifice, which were seized by the insurgents. The incident occurred on a strategic road where Boko Haram carried out attacks on travelers nearly daily, until Nigerian forces closed the road. The government reopened it in July as an indication the Islamic State-aligned group had been pushed from the area and into the deserts of Borno state. Passenger vehicles and trucks with goods aboard still typically travel the route with military escorts, but there was no indication the religious pilgrims had any government-supplied protection.