THE number of those who died in weekend’s clash between the military and
Islamic militants has been put at 128. Military and hospital reports
said, yesterday, that the five-hour-long battle between Boko Haram
extremists and troops in Yobe State killed at least 95 militants, 23
soldiers and eight police officers.
Last Monday, 35 bodies in
military uniform were reportedly brought to a morgue in Damaturu after a
coordinated assault by Boko Haram targeting the security forces, a
hospital source said.
Police and residents said large numbers of
Boko Haram fighters, some in vehicles and some on foot, stormed Damaturu
after dark. Armed with guns and explosives, they attacked and torched
four police
buildings, sparking a fierce, hours-long gun battle with the
security forces.
Extremists reportedly set ablaze four police
command posts and an army barracks where they looted vehicles and
weapons. Police and witnesses said at least two civilians died — a man
believed killed by the insurgents and a civil servant shot by soldiers
for breaking the curfew.
Last Friday, the Joint Task Force, JTF,
clashed with Boko Haram militants in Borno and Yobe states leaving 95
militants dead, the military said.
Heavy gun battle continued
throughout the weekend as the JTF troops attacked the militants in
different locations around Maiduguri and Damaturu, two strongholds of
the deadly sect since 2009.
This development came on the heels of
security reports that the Boko Haram sect was planning a massive
counter-attack on strategic economic interests and JTF positions in the
North east.
Also last Thursday, troops killed 74 members of Boko
Haram in an air and ground assault, the military said on Friday,. The
offensive on Thursday targeted Boko Haram camps in the remote villages
of Galangi and Lawanti in Borno state.
No comments:
Post a Comment