Several military crackdowns and a state of emergency have failed to stop a rising tide of violence in northern Nigeria, and a spate of bomb attacks on churches in the city of Kaduna last week triggered wider sectarian violence.
Most of the attacks have been blamed on Islamist sect Boko Haram which began an uprising against the government of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2009.
Police commissioner Ibrahim Idris said 30 militants had used explosives and guns to attack Kano`s Dala police division.
"The Policemen gallantly repelled the attack ... During the gun duel in Dala Division, 10 of the extremists were killed," he said, adding that motor vehicles and explosives belonging to the militants had been recovered.
One policeman was killed and another was wounded in the battle, he said.
Five other insurgents were killed in a separate gun battle at Jakara police barracks, he added, while two more had been killed after their group attacked a mobile police unit. Three suspected insurgents had also been captured, he said.
Boko Haram, which wants to carve out an Islamic state in Nigeria - whose inhabitants are split fifty-fifty among Muslims and Christians - was not available for comment.
There was no way to independently verify the police report.
Gun and bomb attacks blamed on Boko Haram have killed hundreds since 2009. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
