Dozens of students have been killed in an attack on a school in north-eastern Nigeria by suspected members of the Islamist group Boko Haram.
The remote school in Yobe state was attacked overnight when students were in their dormitories. Authorities say 29 students were killed; others put the figure at 43.
A video posted online in 2012 was said to show Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau (centre). Photo: AFP / YOUTUBE
All the victims were teenage boys and 11 others were seriously injured, the BBC reports. Most of the school was burned to the ground.
Teachers at the school in Buni Yadi said the gunmen gathered the female students together before telling them to go away and get married and to abandon their education.
Boko Haram, a name that translates as "Western education is sin", says it aims to replace Nigeria's political leadership and establish a new state under strict Islamic law.
Nigeria's military says it's pursuing the attackers.
This year close to 300 people have been killed in large-scale Boko Haram attacks. The BBC reports Nigeria's armed forces are facing increasing criticism for failing to protect civilians or to respond to raids by the militants.
