Nigerian troops have repelled Islamic extremists who attacked from four fronts on Maiduguri, the biggest city in north-east Nigeria, with several civilians killed by aerial bombs, and grenades and mortar shells on the ground.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has claimed responsibility for the mass killings in the north-east Nigerian town of Baga and threatened more violence.

Suspected Boko Haram Islamist fighters from Nigeria kidnapped around 80 people, many of them children, and killed three others yesterday in a cross-border attack on villages in northern Cameroon, army and government officials said.

As Islamic militants from Boko Haram step up attacks in Nigeria that have led to the slaughter of more civilians, there is increasing talk that international military action, possibly including a multinational force, may be needed to help crush the insurgency in Africa’s most populous country.

Satellite images show widespread destruction in two Nigerian towns recently attacked by Islamic extremists, an international human rights group has said.

At least three people have been killed and dozens more injured in twin suicide bomb attacks in Nigeria.

Hundreds of bodies remain strewn in the bush in Nigeria from an Islamic extremist attack that Amnesty International suggested is the deadliest massacre in the history of Boko Haram.

The terrible events unfolding in France show how very dangerous extremism can be — even for extremists.

Boko Haram extremists have kidnapped about 40 boys and young men in north-east Nigeria, fleeing residents reported.

Following weeks of speculation, Team Sky yesterday confirmed Ireland’s Philip Deignan will join their ranks for the 2014 season.