Scores of girls have been abducted in an attack on a school in north-east Nigeria, parents say.
Gunmen reportedly arrived at the school in Chibok, Borno state, late last night, and ordered the hostel's teenage residents on to lorries.
Parents told the BBC's Hausa service that at least 200 girls had been abducted. The attackers are thought to be from the Islamist group, Boko Haram.
On Monday, bombings blamed on the group killed more than 70 people in Abuja.
Boko Haram has been waging an armed campaign for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
The attack on the hostel in Chibok was confirmed by police, although they had no confirmation of the abductions.
Residents in the area reported hearing gunshots followed by explosions last night, said BBC reporter Mohammed Kabir Mohammed in Abuja.
A student, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC that she had escaped after seeing her classmates jumping out of the back of a lorry.
Nigerian media reported that two members of the security forces had been killed, and several properties burnt down in the attack on the school.
Boko Haram emerged as a critic of Western-style education, and its militants frequently target schools and educational institutions.
This year, the group's fighters have killed more than 1,500 civilians in three states in north-east Nigeria.
The government recently said that Boko Haram's activities were confined to that part of the country.
However, Monday's bombings in Abuja prompted renewed fears that the militants were extending their campaign to the capital.
Source:BBC
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