ARMY INTERCEPTS 3 SUICIDE BOMBERS IN MAIDUGURI

Four female suicide bombers were intercepted ahead of a checkpoint at the outskirts of Maiduguri, Borno State, by troops who were assisted by members of the Civilian JTF, Hausa service of the BBC reports.

In a statement issued by the acting director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, stated that the suicide bombers were earlier observed trying to bypass a military checkpoint through a nearby village before they were ordered to take the right road.

However, few metres to the checkpoint, one of the bombers swiftly detonated her vest, prompting the vigilant troops to gun down the other three suicide bombers before they could carry out their nefarious acts.

The statement lamented that one of the Civilian JTF operatives lost his life and four other persons sustained various degrees of injuries. “The Nigeria Police Explosive Ordinance Device team in the area safely detonated the unexploded Improvised Explosive Device carried by the other suicide bombers.
“The security situation in the area is now cool and calm,” Usman noted.

At least 30 people have been reported dead and 20 others wounded in a brutal attacks on three villages in Borno State by the Boko Haram sect, a vigilante told AFP.

“Most of the victims were slaughtered and most of the wounded (had suffered) machete cuts,” Mustapha Karimbe, a civilian said.

According to the news agency, news of the attacks on Warwara, Mangari and Bura-Shika in Borno has been slow to emerge because telecom masts in the area had been destroyed in previous Boko Haram raids, hindering communication.

“The militants invaded the villages, hacking and slaughtering their victims before setting the villages on fire,” a resident said.

“Warwara, where 20 people were killed, was the worst affected, said Musa Suleiman, adding that the attackers killed six people in Bura-Shika and another four in Mangari.

The latest deaths take the number of people killed in Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May to more than 1,530, according to an AFP tally.

Buratai and nearby settlements have recently been the targets of deadly raids by Boko Haram, which have left scores dead and entire villages looted and burnt down.

Residents believe the attacks are in response to the pressure that the army chief is exerting on Boko Haram in counter-insurgency military operations.
On Thursday Boko Haram insurgents killed 14 people – decapitating some of them – when they raided and burnt down Kamuya village, the hometown of the army chief’s mother.