Five Killed in Boko Haram Attack on Borno Village

• Air force destroys terrorists’ logistics base
Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri
Five persons were said to have been killed in an attack by suspected members of the Boko Haram on a village in Borno State.

According to a source in the youth vigilante, the insurgents attacked Kwashebe in Jere Local Government Area of the state on Monday night, killing two residents.
The source, who preferred anonymity, said because the attack was at night, the insurgents could not be pursued into the dark.

He however, said the vigilante group in the area, combed the area on Monday morning during which three insurgents were killed.

The source said those injured in the attack were brought to a hospital in Maiduguri to be attended to.
A source in the attacked village told THISDAY yesterday that the insurgents armed with AK47 rifles and petrol bombs, invaded the village at about 8p.m. on Monday and opened fire on residents; they equally set ablaze houses after looting foodstuff and livestock.

He said it was the quick intervention of members of the youth vigilance group that minimised the number of casualties.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday said it had in the past one week, successfully struck a number of Boko Haram terrorists locations, including their logistics bases, within the Sambisa Forest in Borno State.

The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, in a statement yesterday, said the air interdiction missions were conducted day and night, using a combination of combat platforms comprising F-7Ni fighter aircraft, Alpha Jets and Mi-24V helicopter gunship.

Famuyiwa, said the latest air strikes against the terrorists are fallouts of ‘Operation Forest Storm’ launched by the NAF on October 2, 2016 to further degrade the capability of the terrorist elements within the Sambisa general area in order to create the enabling environment for own ground forces to continue their operation.

He stated that from Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), it appears the insurgents are low on logistics as no vehicle was seen moving.

Famuyiwa further said the Battle Damage Assessment showed that the entire operation was a success even as human intelligence confirmed that a number of the insurgents were killed.