Police killed at checkpoint

Nigeria (AP):

Another police officer has been shot to death in northern Nigeria as authorities try to stop a radical Muslim sect accused of committing the targeted killings. Authorities say a police sergeant manning a checkpoint early yesterday morning was shot and killed by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect. So far, four police officers and one civilian in Bauchi have been killed in targeted slayings blamed on a group that engineered a massive prison break in the city last month. Police and civilian killings blamed on the sect also continue in neighbouring Borno state. Followers of Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege" in Hausa, have emerged recently from hiding after their followers started a July 2009 riot, which led to a subsequent security crackdown that left 700 people dead.