LAGOS

Boko Haram militants have attacked Bajoga in Nigeria's northeastern Gombe State, the second such attack on the industrial town within the last month.

"Today, at about 4am, militants again attacked our town, shooting sporadically. The sound of explosions woke us up," local resident Samaila Kadiri told The Anadolu Agency.

"One cannot really say [yet] what the casualties are," Kadiri said.

Kadiri noted that the town was home to the Ashaka cement factory, from which militants reportedly carted away tons of explosive-making materials.

Umaru Dongoro, another town resident, confirmed the attack.

"It seems their target was again the Ashaka cement plant. They fired indiscriminately; I heard that security men at the factory were killed, but I can't say how many," Dongoro, a farmer, said.

Bajoga is located in Gombe State's Funakaye local government area, where in recent months the insurgents have sought to establish control.

It is claimed that the militant group has "sleeper cells" operating across Gombe State, although attacks there had been rare until late October, when dozens were killed by a bombing that targeted a bus station.

Boko Haram, which first emerged in the early 2000s preaching against government misrule and corruption, became violent after the death of its leader in 2009 while in police custody.

In the five years since, the group has been blamed for numerous attacks and thousands of deaths.

Along with Nigeria, Turkey and the U.S. have both designated Boko Haram a terrorist organization.

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