207 Boko Haram militants killed in Maiduguri attack, says Civilian-JTF Nigerian security forces, and members of a local vigilante commonly called Civilian JTF, killed at least 207 Boko Haram militants who launched a daring attack on a military barracks and other government installations in Borno state. Members of the civilian-JTF said they counted at least 207 corpses of suspected Boko Haram members killed after about five hours of what could be described as the deadliest attack by the extremist Boko Haram sect on Maiduguri. Reports quoted a leader of the vigilante identified as Abdullahi as saying that his members counted more than 200 bodies of suspected insurgents in one area where the fighting took place, and said there would be more bodies in the bush. The group said the figure comprised of the attacking members of the Boko Haram and the other members freed from the military cells within Giwa barracks. Residents had earlier described as encouraging the sight of youth in their thousands storming the neighbourhoods of the attacks with clubs, spears, bows and arrows, and machete, searching for Boko Haram members. Another member of the civilian-JTF, Isa Maikati, was also quoted as saying that his group arrested many of the attackers and handed them to soldiers. Those who tried to fight back, were lynched, he said. Unconfirmed reports said casualty on the side of the military was minimal as a source told sunnewsonline that at least five soldiers, among them a woman, were killed in the attack. The attack, the first of its kind in that part of Maiduguri city since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009, started at about 7:30 am and continued until about 12 noon. Hundreds of insurgents, dressed in military fatigues, struck at the barracks, the university and other neighbourhoods of the city. The military said its forces successfully repelled the onslaught which was targeted at freeing detained Boko Haram members. Witnesses told sunnewsonline that a Nigerian Air Force jet hovered around the city for hour, dropping bombs at targeted areas and killing many of the insurgents. There were reports of civilian deaths, although the reports were not confirmed. One resident of Fauri, Babaji Adamu, said the aerial bombing destroyed many houses and killed a girl who was hiding with the parents in a house. Witnesses said one student of the University of Maiduguri was killed, while three others were seriously injured as stray rocket bullets landed in in the densely populated areas of the campus. The Director of Information for the school, Ahmed Muhammed, said there was no attack or explosion on the campus. “What people heard or saw were bullets from the area of the attack that fell into our campus,” he said in a telephone interview. The attack came days after the defence headquarters said Nigeria’s newly- appointed Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Kenneth Minimah, had relocated temporary from Abuja to Maiduguri to help oversee the government’s response to attacks by the deadly sect. It was not clear whether Minimah was in the town when it came under attack. There were no report of his visiting any of the affected areas, or meeting with the media. Calm returned to the city by evening, as members of the Civilian-JTF took to the streets singing victory songs and chanting anti- Boko Haram slogans
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 05:31:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015