At least 185 killed in fighting between Nigeria's military and Islamic extremists

Officials say fighting between Nigeria's military and Islamic extremists in a town in the nation's northeast has killed at least 185 people.

Lawan Kole, a local government official in Baga, told Borno state officials on a visit Sunday that the killings started Friday night and went on for hours. Kole told state officials that at least 185 bodies had been buried, and people continued to search for the dead.
Brig. Gen. Austin Edokpaye told officials that the extremists used heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Edokpaye said extremists used civilians as human shields during the fighting — implying that soldiers opened fire in neighborhoods where they knew civilians lived.

Sunday afternoon, the burned bodies of cattle and goats still filled the streets. Bullet holes marred burned buildings.
The fighting in Baga began Friday and lasted for hours, sending people fleeing into the arid scrublands surrounding the community on Lake Chad. By Sunday, when government officials finally felt safe enough to see the destruction, homes, businesses and vehicles were burned throughout the area.

Nigeria has faced bloody insurgent attacks from extremists since 2010 in its predominantly Muslim north.
The Islamic insurgency in Nigeria grew out of a 2009 riot led by Boko Haram members in Maiduguri that ended in a military and police crackdown that killed some 700 people.