The emir's palace was burnt during Wednesday's attack on Bama, northern Nigeria, in which at least 60 people were killed, police say.
The extent of the damage is not
clear. "They set the palace on fire. Many died," one resident said.
The emir is one of northern
Nigeria's most important traditional rulers, some of whom have already been
targeted by Boko Haram Islamist militants.
More than 300 people have been
killed this year by insurgents.
The attack on Bama came a day after
presidential spokesman Doyin Okupe said the army was "winning the
war" against Boko Haram.
'Ran for their lives'
Details of the attack were slow to
emerge because the mobile phone network has been badly affected by the
insurgency - militants have blown up masts, while the army has disrupted the
signal in order to hinder the attackers' communications.
Borno state police chief Lawal Tanko
said that at least 60 people had been killed in the attack and that a school
had also been targeted.
"The toll is likely to
rise," he told the AFP news agency. "The attackers caused enormous
destruction. They burnt down some of the major landmarks in the town."
He said the air force had sent
planes from the state capital Maiduguri 60km (40 miles) away to bomb the
insurgents.
Abba Masta, who lives near the
palace, told the Reuters news agency: "Students had to run for their lives
as they attacked the government girls' college as well."
Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told
the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning.
The town has been attacked several
times in the past.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau on
Wednesday released a video in which he named traditional rulers, as well as
politicians, Christians, schools and Nigeria's oil industry based in the south,
among targets for attack.
Boko Haram, which means "Western
education is forbidden" wants to establish Islamic rule in the mainly
Muslim north of Nigeria.
It launched its uprising in 2009 and
has staged attacks across northern Nigeria, and the capital, Abuja.
It has not yet hit the oil-producing
Niger Delta.
On Tuesday, Mr Okupe said the
military was "on top of the situation".
Mr Okupe's statement contradicted
the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded.
Governor Kashim Shettima called for
reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better
motivated" than the security forces.
A state of emergency was declared in
Borno and two neighbouring states last year, with thousands of extra troops
sent to the region, but the attacks have continued.
Source: BBC
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