Four suicide bombers kill 19 civilian JTF members, villagers in Borno

Troops kill six terrorists on Lake Chad shores
Four Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed 19 civilian JTF members and villagers at a funeral ceremony in Molai village, police said yesterday.

Confirming the death toll, the Borno State Police Commissioner, Damian Chukwu, said that the suspects infiltrated the village through northern fringe of Sambisa Forest along Damboa Road.

Chukwu said that the suspected suicide bombers targeted mourners at the funeral ceremony in Molai village to carry out attacks.

His words: “Yesterday, there was a funeral here and you know where there is a funeral; people usually gather to bid farewell to the deceased.

“So, four female suicide bombers find their way into the village where one of them targeted civilian JTF sandbags very close to military guard location. Before they knew it, she detonated the IED strapped to her body killing six civilian JTF members and herself.

“The other suicide bombers detonated their Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at different locations in the village killing themselves and quite number of people, including more members of the civilian JTF.

“In all, 12 civilian JTF members lost their lives with seven villagers and the four female suicide bombers, bringing the total number of deaths to 23. The 23 injured persons were taken to various hospitals in Maiduguri while the dead have been evacuated.”

Meanwhile, troops of the 7 Brigade Special Forces and 8 Task Force Division of the Nigerian Army have killed six Boko Haram terrorists while clearing remnants of insurgents on the shores of Lake Chad in the North-East sub-region.

Deputy Director, Public Relations of 8 Task Force Division, Col. Timothy Antigha, in a statement in Maiduguri yesterday said the suspected insurgents were killed while gathering at Dawashi Gari village to launch attacks on Lake Chad communities.

Antigha said: “In an engagement this morning, gallant soldiers of the division killed four terrorists while others fled; abandoning their motorcycles, which were recovered and destroyed. This is to prevent the insurgents from attacking communities on shores of Lake Chad and other innocent villagers.”

He said that during the clearance by military operations in the border areas of Chad, three villages were cleared of terrorists.

The cleared town and villages, according to him, include Gashigar, Asaga, Bukarti and neighbouring communities of Lake Chad.

On arrest of suspects, he said: “In the clearance process, troops made contact with terrorists in Kannama village in Yobe State and killed two terrorists; with the arrest of two others. An AK-47 rifle, four magazines and four motorcycles were also recovered.”