Suspected Boko Haram fighters stole dynamite and pick-up trucks from a French-owned cement works in Nigeria after robbing a bank, in a raid to fund and pursue their campaign of violence in the northeast of Nigeria.

The attack in Ashaka, in Gombe state, on Tuesday came after the Islamists robbed a bank, blew up a police station and razed a political party office 20 kilometres (12 miles) away in Nafada.

Boko Haram funds its operations in part through bank robberies and has previously stolen vehicles including armoured personnel carriers, weapons and ammunition from the Nigerian military.

Unlike previous attacks in recent months in the far northeast, the militants did not attempt to hold the town, leaving when they secured their loot.

French diplomats in Nigeria said none of its nationals was taken in the raid. The head of the Lafarge group, Bruno Lafont, said operations had not been affected.

“The factory was the target of intruders. There were no injuries. There was no damage in the factory,” he told reporters in Paris on Wednesday. This morning (Wednesday), the situation is still calm and everything is back to normal.”

Credit: AFP/ Yahoo News