17 killed in fresh Boko Haram attack in Borno

•Troops pound insurgents at Cameroon border

Not fewer than 17 villagers have been killed in the southern part of Borno State in what looks like a well-coordinated attack by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters.

Governor Babagana Zulum recently raised the alarm over the presence of a large number of ISWAP fighters in the southern part of the state, calling on security agencies to decimate them before they gained ground.

Security sources said the terrorists attacked three communities in the area late Saturday.

At Mandaragiru, a community 32km away from Biu, the headquarters of the council area, they killed six residents, all males.

At nearby Ghuma village, they killed two males and wounded several others.

Some locals told The Nation that the terrorists believed the villagers told the military of their plan to plant explosives on Biu/Damboa Road.

“They thought we gave military information about their plans to plant bombs on Biu/Damboa Road, so they came for revenge,” a vigilante said. They burnt down our shops, plundered our foodstuff and livestock before leaving our locality,” he said.

Commissioner of Police, Abdul Umar, confirmed the incident but did not give details.

Elsewhere, the terrorists suffered a great loss.

Troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) neutralised many of them at the Nigeria-Cameroon border, a statement by spokesman of the MJTF, Colonel Muhammad Dole, said.

He said a large number of arms and foodstuff including AK47 rifles, ammunition, 21 bicycles, some uniforms, 39 bags of millet and two bags of beans were also recovered during the operation. (The Nation)