Suspected Boko Haram fighters stole dynamite and pick-up trucks from a French-owned cement works in Nigeria after robbing a bank, in a raid to fund and pursue their campaign of violence in the northeast of the African nation.
The attack in Ashaka, in Gombe state, on Tuesday came after the Islamists robbed a bank, blew up a police station and razed a political party office 20 kilometres (12 miles) away in Nafada.
Both incidents again demonstrated Boko Haram's apparent ability to strike at will and further punctured government claims that a ceasefire deal has been reached to end five years of bloodshed.
Boko Haram funds its operations in part through bank robberies and has previously stolen vehicles including armoured personnel carriers, weapons and ammunition from the Nigerian military.
Unlike previous attacks in recent months in the far northeast, the militants did not attempt to hold the town, leaving when they secured their loot.
French diplomats in Nigeria said none of its nationals was taken in the raid. The head of the Lafarge group, Bruno Lafont, said operations had not been affected.
The Lafarge plant, set up in 1974, is the largest cement works in northern Nigeria and employs about 500 people, including an unspecified number of expatriates.
The gunmen stormed the site at about 3:00 pm (1400 GMT), according to one worker, Amadu Wunti, who said they looted high explosives and demanded to be taken to where expatriate managers stay.
