Nigerian militants 'under siege'

The aftermath of gun battles in Bauchi on Sunday and suspected militants A group of Nigerian Islamist militants is barricaded inside a district in the city of Maiduguri, after two days of violence in the country's north. A BBC reporter in the city says the Islamists, known locally as the "Taliban", are shooting at anyone approaching their stronghold. The military says it has killed three militants trying to join the group. The security forces have been told to use all necessary means to end the unrest, which has killed at least 100. The group now under siege by the security forces is occupying an area near Maiduguri's railway station. Nigeria's 'Taliban' enigma Eyewitness: Nigeria attacks Fear and tension after attack It includes shops, schools and the home of their leader Mohammed Yusuf. Also in the area are the mosque where he preaches and the headquarters of the Boko Haram, as his followers are called. Boko Haram means "Western education is prohibited". Mr Yusuf says young people in the region are being corrupted by the West. Although the group is known locally as the "Taliban", they are not thought to have any links to the Afghan group. It is not known how many people are inside the barricaded area. The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Nigeria says armoured vehicles and soldiers are pouring into the city. She says the militants are shooting indiscriminately at civilians and hundreds are fleeing the district. Bodies piled up The Nigerian military has stepped up security in northern Nigeria following the clashes. ANALYSIS By Caroline Duffield, BBC News, Nigeria Tensions are never far from the surface in northern Nigeria. Poverty and competition for scarce resources, along with ethnic, cultural and religious differences have all fuelled sudden violence. But the latest violence is not between communities, it involves young men from religious groups, arming themselves and attacking local police. Fringe religious groups in Nigeria have claimed links to the Taliban before - individuals have also been accused of links to al-Qaeda. But Nigeria is very different to countries like Mali or Algeria, where groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operate. The idea of radical Islamist militants gaining a serious foothold in Nigeria is usually dismissed, because of the strength of local identities and traditions. Soldiers set up road blocks and imposed dusk-to-dawn curfews in the worst affected areas of Yobe, Kano and Borno States. On Tuesday, the military said it had killed three people coming into Maiduguri from Kano State. They were members of Boko Haram, the military said, and were trying to join the group in Maiduguri. One of those killed is believed to be a senior member of Boko Haram in Kano. In the two days of violence, the militants staged attacks on police and government offices. There have been reports of youths armed with machetes and guns killing police officers and civilians at random. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that police stations were attacked and civilians pulled from their cars and shot dead. Maiduguri, in Borno State, has seen the worst violence. The bodies of residents and militants have been piled outside the police station and in the streets. A BBC reporter there counted 100 corpses. Sharia law is in place across northern Nigeria, but there is no history of al-Qaeda-linked violence in the country. The country's 150 million people are split almost equally between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south