Boko Haram
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Boko Haram rocket attacks have killed thirteen people in a residential area of the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri. The rocket-propelled grenade attacks in the capital and the largest city of the restive Borno State have destroyed a number of houses, as well. Local resident, Idrissa Mandara, said, “Eight persons were killed in my compound. Five died instantly and three died at the hospital. We also have five others that have been buried after they were found dead in their homes.”
He added that the dead casualties included five children and two women. Mari Madu, another local resident, said he had heard and counted at least 40 explosions, which began shortly after midnight, before he lost count of the blasts. “Each time they fired into the town, we saw bright sparkling flashes which moved with great speed... One of the blasts shook my roof so badly that I thought it must have landed on my house,” Madu said.
Maiduguri, with a swelling population of two million people, is facing a heavy influx of refugees. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the region have fled their homes in the past years, fearing Boko Haram atrocities. Some 13,000 people have reportedly been killed by the militant group since it started its terror campaign six years ago.A multinational force comprising of armed forces from regional nations has reduced the sphere of influence of the extremists; however, the group continues to carry out bombings and hit-and-run attacks in the region.
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Boko Haram Takfiri militants have launched a fresh attack on northeast Nigeria’ Borno state, killing a number of people and destroying dozens of houses. A vigilante and the army said on Sunday that the attack took place when the terror group stormed the town of Gubio, 95 kilometers (60 miles) by road north of the state capital, Maiduguri, on Saturday night. “Boko Haram invaded our town last night and killed many of our people and burnt more than half of the town,” resident Babor Kachalla said, adding that the militants “overpowered the soldiers guarding the town.”
Another citizen of the town said the terrorists pulled back six hours later. “We stayed in the bush from where we could hear sounds of guns up to 3:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) when the shooting stopped, but we could see fire from all over the town," he added. Meanwhile, an unnamed military officer in Maiduguri noted that reinforcements pushed the militants out of the town, which was also targeted by Boko Haram in November 2014.
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- Ngwa Bertrand
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Eight people have lost their lives in Nigeria’s northeastern Adamawa state in a bomb attack at a cattle market, officials say. The explosion occurred outside a crowded livestock market in Garkida village, 165 kilometers (102 miles) north of the state capital Yola, at about 1:15 p.m. local time (1215 GMT) on Tuesday. State assembly lawmaker Jerry Kundusi said that 14 others were also injured in the attack, adding that the bombing was carried out by Boko Haram Takfiri militants. On Saturday, at least three people were killed and seven women abducted by the Takfiri terrorists in Adamawa state. The latest spate of Boko Haram violence come despite the government's declaration in March that the state was "cleared" of the militants.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” controls large parts of northeastern Nigeria. Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria are the four African countries that have been directly affected by the growing threat of Boko Haram in recent months. Boko Haram says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government. It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of the country since the beginning of its militancy in 2009, which has so far left about 15,000 people dead and displaced about 1.5 million others. Boko Haram recently pledged allegiance to the ISIL terrorist group, which is mainly operating in Iraq and Syria. Back in February, the four countries together with a contingent from Benin launched a joint campaign to confront the threat from Boko Haram in the region.
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The Nigerian army has made fresh gains in its fight against Takfiri Boko Haram terrorists, overrunning 10 militant camps in the country’s northeast. Defense spokesman Chris Olukolade said in a statement on Sunday that security forces destroyed the Boko Haram camps in the terrorist group’s Sambisa Forest stronghold in the state of Borno. Olukolade added that a number of terrorists were killed in the offensive and that a landmine explosion killed one soldier and injured two others.
The defense spokesman said the military operation continues in both Sambisa and other areas. “The operation to clear the terrorists in Sambisa and other forests is continuing as troops in all fronts have been alerted to be on the lookout for fleeing terrorists,” said Olukolade, adding, “The Nigeria Air Force is maintaining an active air surveillance to track the movement of terrorists for appropriate action as the operation continues.” The gains came a day after an attack killed seven people and injured scores of others at a crowded bus station in neighboring Yobe State.
The military operation is part of an offensive by the Nigerian army to remove the Takfiri terrorists in the northeast of the country. A regional military coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has claimed a series of major victories against Boko Haram since launching sweeping offensives against the militant group in February. Some 15,000 people have been killed and about 1.5 million displaced as a result of Boko Haram violence since 2009. Boko Haram recently pledged allegiance to the ISIL terrorist group, which is mainly operating in Iraq and Syria.
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Local residents and army officials say at least nine people have been killed after Boko Haram Takfiri militants launched an attack in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno. Civilian vigilante official, Yusuf Sani, said on Thursday that six vigilantes and three soldiers were killed after hundreds of Boko Haram extremists tried to attack the Giwa Barracks in the city of Maiduguri, located approximately 870 kilometers (540 miles) north of the capital, Abuja, on Wednesday evening.
Nigerian government forces, however, thwarted their assault following a fierce exchange of fire with the Takfiris. "The terrorists suffered serious casualties," Sani said without giving an exact number, adding that 12 vigilantes also sustained injuries by the shrapnels of detonated bombs. "They came in through the Kayamla area at around 6:30 p.m. (1730 GMT), when residents were preparing for evening prayers, firing in all directions and hurling bombs," local resident Ibrahim Sidi said. "Soldiers from the Giwa barracks deployed and intercepted them just on the outskirts of the city and engaged them in a fight that lasted for over 40 minutes," he added. An army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said that army soldiers "killed many" of the militants.
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Hundreds of Boko Haram extremists tried to attack the biggest army base in northeast Nigeria overnight but met fierce resistance from soldiers who fired artillery throughout the night. Booming cannon and whooshing rockets woke up people living around Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, the northeast's biggest city. The ground shook as people prostrated themselves for evening prayers. Hundreds fled, though some were returning home on Thursday morning. Many villagers were killed by shells that hit the outlying village of Kayamla, where the soldiers engaged hundreds of militants, according to Muhammad Gava, a hunter who is secretary of the self-defense Vigilante Group of Nigeria. "Many of them (Boko Haram) were killed outside the trenches while some fled back," said another civilian fighter, Ibrahim Musa. "We were with the soldiers during the attack and I was shocked to see that Boko Haram could be in such large numbers," Musa told The Associated Press.
Panicking people took flight, some women hefting babies on their backs while other children clung to their skirts. An elderly woman trying to run had an asthma attack. The army imposed a 24-hour curfew amid fears some insurgents have slipped through trenches and sand walls constructed to prevent a motorized assault after a Feb. 1 offensive in which the Islamic extremists attacked Maiduguri from four fronts. The curfew is "to protect lives and property of innocent and law-abiding people of Maiduguri," said a statement from Col. Tukur Gusau, spokesman for the army's 7th Division that is leading the fight against Boko Haram. A multinational force and Nigerian troops backed by bombing fighter jets and helicopter gunships drove the extremists from all towns in the northeast in a 14-week-long offensive. Nigerian officials have said they have the militants hemmed into their stronghold in the vast Sambisa Forest, which is about 125 miles southeast of Maiduguri.
An offensive on forest camps has freed some 700 girls and women held captive by the extremists. But it appears to be bogged down by militants' land mines and booby traps. Maiduguri has suffered several attacks, including a March 14, 2014 assault in which Boko Haram invaded Giwa Barracks and freed hundreds of detainees. More than 600 people were killed that day, mostly unarmed detainees gunned down by Nigerian troops, according to Amnesty International. Maiduguri used to be a city where people didn't lock the doors to their homes. Its population of 2 million has been swelled by more than 300,000 refugees.More than 1.5 million people in Nigeria have been driven from their homes, some across borders, during the nearly 5-year-old Islamic insurgency. Last year was the bloodiest, with some 10,000 people killed, according to the U.S. Council on
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