80 insurgents, 2 soldiers killed in Borno gun battle

No fewer than 80 Boko Haram insurgents and two soldiers lost their lives when suspected members of dreaded Boko Haram sect laid ambush along the troubled Maiduguri-Damboa road which was closed down for motorists since July this year.

The clash, according to reliable sources, occurred weekend when some military personnel attached to 7 Division, Nigerian Army were on their way to Damboa, the headquarters of Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.

This came barely 48 hours after the troops succeeded in killing 75 insurgents in a failed attempt to attack engineers and electricians who were repairing transmission lines vandalised by terrorists, in the remote village of Komala along the 185 kilometre Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu road since July this year and the latest killing of over 110 terrorists who attacked Damboa at the weekend.

The whole of Maiduguri and its environs had remained in total blackout following the vandalised power lines and this was the third attempt by security forces and the staff of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, to restore power to the city of Maiduguri, to no avail.

The source said: “Military personnel were on their way to Damboa to give security cover to the staff of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) who were in Damboa to repair some destroyed electric cables along Maiduguri-Damboa road but they were ambushed by insurgents, leaving two soldiers and over 80 terrorists dead over the weekend.

A security source who does not want his name in print told our correspondent that “as the troops were moving towards Damboa, one Boko Haram terrorist suddenly appeared from the bush with a female by his side both armed with A-47 rifles and confronted the troops who immediately killed both of them. But unknown to the troops, many of the terrorists were hiding by the road side.

According to the source, “as the troops approached, the insurgents fired a Rocket Propelled Grenade, RPG, at one of the troops’ vehicles killing two soldiers.

“The troops immediately responded and engaged the terrorists in a gun battle, and when they realised that they were overwhelmed by the troops, the terrorists started running into the bush before they were pursued by the troops who killed almost all of them.”

The source further said that he personally counted 80 corpses of the insurgents, adding that the troops also destroyed three Hilux vehicles mounted with anti aircraft gun and another one belonging to Yobe State government believed to have been snatched in a recent attack on Damaturu loaded with Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, as well as many motorcycles.




source:vanguardngr