BOKO HARAM: 50 TERRORISTS, 6 SOLDIERS DIE IN FRESH BORNO CLASH

Over 50 terrorists were killed as soldiers repelled a daring attack on their locations in Dam­boa, Borno State yesterday night.  The terrorists had stormed the troops’ bases and police locations while most of the soldiers were out on patrol of surrounding

villages. A total of 5 soldiers and a senior officer were killed in the attack.

A Defense statement last night said a search of the locality is ongoing, while the bodies of the fallen sol­diers have been recovered and deposited in the military morgue.  The wounded are also receiving treatment at a military medical facility.

A security source hinted that the attackers fired Rocket Propelled Grenades and used Improvised Explosive Devic­es (IEDs) but the military repelled the terrorists in a fierce battle, killing about 50.

However, some soldiers reportedly lost their lives in the fight that lasted into the night on Friday hours after a suicide bomber killed five people and injured over 10 in neighboring Konduga, central Borno.

“About 12 soldiers and four policemen including the DPO were reportedly killed while a senior military officer who led the operation lost his life,” a reliable security source disclosed.

The Friday attack at Dam­boa, according to a police source, was a reprisal attack following a military clampdown on the insurgents camps at Yajiwa and Alagar­no in the area on Thursday. A military air raid with support from ground troops had bombarded the terrorists enclave around the area, killing over 50 of them. The raid which left the terrorists with heavy casualties was said to have promoted a reprisal on Friday.

“It was a successful air raid carried out by the air-force in conjunction with the ground troops of the Nigeria army from Division 7. During the air raid that took place on Thursday evening, the Boko Haram suffered heavy casualties as dozens of them were killed. Angered by the devastation they suffered, the insurgents decided to mobilize in full force with an attempt to attack the base in Damboa, but unknown to them, the soldiers there were fully alert about possible reprisal attack. And when they eventually surfaced on Friday evening in over ten vehicles, soldiers en­gaged them in a fierce shoot-out that claimed over 50 of them,” the source added.

Police Public Relations Officer at Borno State Police Command, Gideon Jubrin, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) confirmed the attack but said “the command does not have any details as at press time. “There was an attack at Damboa but we don’t have the details now,” he told journalists.

Damboa, located south of Borno, about 85 kilometers from Maiduguri has witnessed many attacks from insurgents in the state, forcing many residents to flee the area. Sanity appears to have returned to the area as the hitherto deserted town known for abundance of fruits came alive again.

In another development, troops on patrol around Baga area have recovered explosives and rifles concealed in a truck loaded with fish and other commodities. Four suspects have been tak­en into custody in connection with the incident.

At Konduga also in Borno State, a suicide bomber in a Golf car yesterday crashed into a checkpoint killing him­self, a policeman and three vigilante youths.