Troops, Islamists clash near site of latest kidnap

Nigerian troops have repelled a Boko Haram attack near the village where 185 people were kidnapped last week, killing several insurgents, soldiers and witnesses said Saturday.

Roughly 150 militants stormed the town of Bulabulin on Wednesday, but the military had reportedly received advanced warning of the raid.

Bulabulin lies in the Damboa local government district of northeastern Borno state and is near the village of Gumsuri where 185 people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped last Sunday.

“Our men climbed high electricity poles for surveillance and sighted (the insurgents) from afar,” said a senior officer who participated in the operation but requested anonymity.

Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said Friday that troops were battling Boko Haram fighters in the area, but was unavailable to give details on clashes in Bulabulin.

Two security sources estimated that a large number of insurgents were killed by the military but there was no official toll.

Resident Samuel James confirmed that the military overpowered the militants.

“We would have been dead by now but the army really gave the terrorists a good fight,” he told AFP.

Olukolade said reports of the mass kidnapping in Gumsuri needed to be verified but confirmed that Boko Haram had attacked the town, killing a number of civilians.

Locals and officials said the hostages were carted away on trucks towards the Sambisa Forest, a notorious Islamist stronghold.