Slaughter Reported in Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Survivors of an assault by Islamic militants that killed a large number of civilians in Nigeria have described days of relentless violence in which, one witness said, some people were slaughtered "like insects."

The accounts were given by villagers who fled the carnage in and around Baga, a town in Borno state that lies in the northeastern corner of Nigeria near the border with Chad. The killing unfolded over several days after Boko Haram fighters seized a key military base there on Jan. 3.

Amnesty International has said there are reports that the death toll could be as high as 2,000, though some witnesses cite lower tolls in the hundreds.

Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a military spokesman, said Monday that the evidence available so far indicates a death toll of no more than 150, including insurgents killed in combat with troops. The military has said 14 soldiers were killed and 30 were wounded in the Baga attack, and that it was making a plan to restore "law, order and normalcy" to the area.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the U.S. still was trying to get information from the ground on reported atrocities.

Nigeria's home-grown Boko Haram group drew international condemnation when its fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school in northeast Chibok town last year. Dozens escaped but 219 remain missing.