Boko Haram attacks Borno City, kills troops, kills civilians,

In an attack on Askira town in the southern part of Borno state, Boko Haram terrorists killed one soldier and four other people. The attack was reported to have occurred around 1 p.m. on Saturday, and by the time the insurgents were repelled by a fighter jet, they had killed a master warrant officer, one vigilante, and three other town residents.One of our correspondents was told by a source from the military base in Askira that Boko Haram fighters had stormed the town in about 15 gun trucks and opened up on the military base.

The source said, “Approximately 15 gun trucks came into town and attacked our arms store.” But as they had taken our weapons and ammunition before, it was bare. One master warrant officer was killed. The troops scrambled for cover because we were surrounded by the attackers, but a fighter jet landed and targeted the rebels. They killed three of them and destroyed four of their gun trucks. Many of the attackers were wounded, but a single army gun truck was lost.Also after the terrorists were repelled by the fighter jet, a resident of Askira, who did not want to be identified, said, “They went into the village shooting indiscriminately killing four residents, including a vigilante.”

“The woman added, “We got a warning call from the neighbouring village that terrorists had been seen by some people. We heard gunshots around 1pm.She said that they were hiding till it was dark enough to sneak into the city.Brig. Gen. Sagir Musa, the Army spokesman, had yet to respond to inquiries regarding the incident. On Sunday, he did not react to phone calls and a test message seeking his comment.But a statement by Operation Lafiya Dole spokesman, Col. Ado Isa, confirmed the Askira attack but added that the nsurgents also suffered heavy losses from 28 Task Force Brigade troopsIt read partly, “On December 12, 2020, Boko Haram terrorists attempted to attack Askira Uba in Borno State. The terrorists were suspected to have come from Sambisa Forest, mounted on over 15 gun trucks and approached the town from different directions simultaneously. Troops responded and engaged the criminals with superior fire power.

Similarly, a statement released on Sunday by the Coordinator of Defense Media Operations, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, reported that several Boko Haram insurgents at Njimia on the edge of the Sambisa Forest in Borno State were eliminated by air strikes” by the air task force of Operation Lafiya Dole. It added that three robbers were killed and four others were arrested by the Operation Whirl Stroke troops in another operation.“In the statement, Enenche said that in the early hours of Saturday, the troops of Operation Whirl Stroke raided found bandit hideouts in Tomatar Ugba and Kundi villages in Mbacher council ward of Katsina-Ala LGA, Benue County, where the three hoodlums were killed.