Joint Task Force kills 16 Islamists in Maiduguri

Security operatives sit watch bags seized from worshippers who were not allowed into Church of the Brethren with their bags in Maiduguri, Borno State. Photo: Getty Images
Security operatives sit watch bags seized from worshippers who were not allowed into Church of the Brethren with their bags in Maiduguri, Borno State. Photo: Getty Images


The Joint Task Force shot dead 16 suspected militants in a fire fight with Islamist sect Boko Haram on Tuesday, the military said.
A Reuters reporter heard gunfire and explosions echoing through the remote city of Maiduguri, Borno State.
Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in parts of Nigeria, has been blamed for hundreds of bomb and gun attacks on security forces and civilians over the past two years.
It has become the main security threat in Nigeria, Africa's top energy producer, and has linked up with other Islamist groups in the region such as al Qaeda's north African wing, although it is based far from oil producing facilities in the south.
"Some suspected Boko Haram terrorists attempted to open fire on (security) operatives but could not succeed. We have so far shot dead 16 of the terrorists during a shootout," field operations officer for Borno State, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, told Reuters by telephone on Wednesday.
He said Nigerian forces had seized weapons and ammunition from the suspects and destroyed some of their home-made bombs in controlled explosions.
"We were able to achieve this feat based on information from the public," he said. "There were no casualties on our side."
There was no immediate comment from Boko Haram.


Source: The Nation

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