19 Killed in Boko Haram Attacks

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) -- Police in Nigeria say 19 people have been killed in a series of attacks by Boko Haram suicide bombers.

Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu says 23 others were wounded in Tuesday night's attacks in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, which is the birthplace of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The police commissioner says 12 of the dead were members of a civilian self-defense force and that the other seven people were killed when they gathered to mourn the deaths.

A spokesman for the self-defense force, Danbatta Bello, says at least one of the suicide bombers was female. The spokesman says the bombers specifically targeted his colleagues while they were on duty.

Nigeria's government late last year declared that Boko Haram had been "crushed" but deadly attacks continue.

(KA)