KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - Islamist rebels have attacked a major police patrol taking a number of hostages in a remote area of northeast Nigeria near the Cameroonian border, the missing officers' commander told AFP by telephone.
Borno State police commissioner Ade Ajakaiye said he could not yet confirm the number of casualties among the 60-man squad which was attacked on Friday, but that some policemen were known to have been taken prisoner.
"We received information that members of the Taliban group attacked our men on patrol around Kala-Balge bushes," he said.
The self-styled "Taliban" are a small group of militant Islamists who were inspired by their Afghan namesakes and who claim to be fighting to create an independent Muslim state in northeastern Nigeria.
"The nature of the attack and the fact that our men were taken hostage clearly show that this must be the handiwork of the Taliban," Ajaikaye said.
Ajaikaye said that military and police reinforcments backed by two helicopters had been dispatched to the area to investigate.
The Taliban first came to public notice in December last year when they launched a short-lived rebellion, seizing control of a small patch of semi-desert on Nigeria's northern border with Niger.
They attacked several police stations, raised the Afghan flag and declared independence, but the uprising was put down within weeks by Nigerian forces.
Last month the group appeared again, attacking two police posts in Borno State and killing four officers and a civilian in raids launched from bases on the Cameroonian border.
Cameroonian and Nigerian forces have since been cooperating and several rebels have been shot or arrested. Security patrols have been stepped up in the border area.