Written by Tim Cocks, Bate Felix and Joe Bavier | From Reuters 

Suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamist group, which kidnapped 276 schoolgirls last month, gunned down a traditional Muslim emir in an attack on a convoy in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, the Borno state government said.

The Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrissa Timta, was traveling with the emirs of Uba and Askira to a attend a funeral when the suspected Islamist gunmen opened fire on their car in Zhur, a remote community in Borno state.

Since April 14, when the girls were taken, at least 500 civilians have been killed by the militants, according to a Reuters count.

Timta died from gunshot wounds and two policemen were killed while the other two emirs managed to escape, a source at the Emir of Uba’s palace told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

“The Emir of Gwoza was killed around 9 a.m. today following a bloody attack by some gunmen believed to be members of the Boko Haram,” Borno state government said in a statement.

Sources had earlier told Reuters two of the traditional leaders had been kidnapped, but the palace source said the emirs of Uba and Askira had simply hidden for some time in the bush, leading to fears they had been abducted.

Most of the vehicles in the convoy were destroyed, the source said.

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