UPDATE 1-Suspected Islamists kill at least 11 in attack on convoy in northeastern Nigeria

(Adds presidency comment)
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist
militants killed at least 11 people in northeastern Nigeria in
an attack on a security convoy that was taking people displaced
by an insurgency back to their homes, police and security
sources said on Saturday.
Islamic State, to whom a breakaway faction of Nigerian
militant group Boko Haram pledged allegiance in 2016, said on
its Amaq news agency that 30 police officers and soldiers were
killed in the attack on Friday on a road leading to the
strategic fishing town of Baga in Borno state.
In a statement on Saturday, Borno state police said eight
police officers and three members of a government-approved
militia were killed, and 13 people were wounded in the attack
around noon (1100 GMT) on Friday.
Two soldiers, a police officer and a member of the
government-approved militia - all speaking anonymously because
they were not authorised to speak to journalists - told Reuters
at least four soldiers were also killed.
Two Nigerian military spokesmen did not immediately respond
to requests for comment.
President Muhammadu Buhari "urges security and intelligence
agencies to intensify efforts to check sabotage, sanitize the
roads, venues and locations well in advance of returning IDPs
(internally displaced people)", a statement issued by his
spokesman said.
Islamist militants have forced more than 2 million people to
flee their homes since 2009 when Boko Haram began an insurgency
aimed at creating a state adhering to a strict interpretation of
sharia law. Some 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
The convoy was taking people back to Baga at the start of an
initiative by authorities in Borno to relocate displaced persons
to their homes. Borno is the insurgency's birthplace and the
state worst hit by the conflict.
Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) has become a
dominant force in the region in recent years, targeting attacks
on security forces. Boko Haram has carried out suicide bomb
attacks and shooting raids on residents.