Military Repel Boko Haram Attack On Biu, Kill 41, Comprising Chadian Citizens

An attempt by Boko Haram to take over Biu, the largest town in the south of troubled Borno State, was on Wednesday repelled by the military, according to military sources and residents.

Military sources said the insurgents suffered heavy casualty as many of them who attempted to invade the Army barracks in the town were killed.

One of the sources said 41 corpses of the insurgents laid at different spots around the barracks.

Another source said seven of the insurgents, who sustained injuries from the ensued gunfight, were captured alive by soldiers and that an Armoured Personel Carrier was seized from the insurgents.

The information about the captured insurgents was however not confirmed.

Also, some of the killed insurgents were said to be citizens of neighbouring Chad Republic.

Biu is about 300 kilometres from Maiduguri, the troubled Borno State capital, and it remains one of the few towns in the state yet to be captured by the terrorists.

One of the residents of the town, Dauda Yusuf, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone from Biu, said, “Sporadic shootings made many of us shiver this morning as the military engaged the members of Boko Haram in fierce battle.

“From all indications and given the severity of the fight, the insurgents perhaps wanted to add the town to the list of their captured territories.”

Haruna, who spoke at about 1pm on Wednesday, said the Nigerian troops fought hard to ward off the threat.

A senior military source in Maiduguri, who spoke anonymously, said it took the gallantry of the Nigerian soldiers to repel the insurgents.

The officer said that the attack had been expected and that the soldiers were prepared.

He said the insurgents stormed the town in the early hours of Wednesday, shooting sporadically before the military responded and was able to repel the attack.

He said the casualties could “not be given now as the military is still taking position and combing the town.”

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the Gombe State Police Command, Fwaje Atajiri, said a suicide bomber on Tuesday attempted to bomb worshippers in a mosque in the Gombe metropolis.

“Fortunately the suicide bomber failed and in the process of detonating the bomb he was consumed by the explosive,” Atajiri said.

The police spokesman, who spoke to journalists shortly after the incident, said the suicide bomber was on a motorcycle laden with explosives and had been heading towards the mosque, but the explosives went off before he reached his target.

He said the suicide bomber was the only casualty of the incident.

“The incident happened around Kasuwan Mata area of Gombe, few minutes to seven o’clock this evening (Tuesday). He was targeting a mosque but the explosives went off before he could reach his target,” he said.

The policeman said that hoodlums had wanted to take advantage of the situation to loot people’s property but were contained by the police and other security operatives around the area.

Source:
Punch Newspaper