Bama: Hundreds Killed As Jets Bombs Troops, Boko Haram Fighter Islamist Boko Haram insurgents have overrun much of a North Eastern Nigerian town after hours of fighting that has killed scores and displaced thousands of residents, several security sources said on Tuesday. The Islamists launched an attack on the town of Bama, 70 km (45 miles) from the Borno state capital of Maiduguri, on Monday. They were initially repelled but came back in greater numbers overnight, the sources and witnesses said. Nigeria’s defense spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sources said there were heavy casualties on both sides. One security source said as many as 5,000 people fled the town. In a bungled air strike, several Nigerian troops were killed at the Bama armory by a fighter jet targeting the insurgents, a soldier on the ground told Reuters. Two months after Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria declared the area they seized an Islamic caliphate, Boko Haram has also for the first time explicitly laid claim to territory it says it controls in parts of northeast Nigeria. thepost-ng/bama-hundreds-killed-as-jets-bombs-troops-boko-haram-fighter/#.VAaxyGOdR_4
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 06:15:55 +0000