Gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram terrorists group have reportedly killed some residents in Ajiri town in Borno State, northeast Nigeria.
This latest attack was confirmed in a statement on Monday by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima.
Yerima who stated that insurgents on a criminal mission carried out the attack on Ajiri in Konduga Local Government Area (LGA) of the state on Sunday, did not give the actual number of locals killed by Boko Haram.
According to the army spokesperson, the gunmen razed some houses before they were engaged by the troops of Operation Hadin Kai deployed in the area.
“The retreating terrorists went away with various degrees of gunshot injuries while the gallant troops are on their chase.
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“Unfortunately, however, two personnel paid the supreme price in the resulting encounter,” said the army spokesman.
He explained that the attack on Ajiri came a day after troops successfully thwarted an attempt by the terrorists to infiltrate Rann – a town that serves as the headquarters of Kala Balge LGA of the state.
The terrorists, in their numbers, were said to have attempted to disrupt the peace in the border town on Saturday last week.
They were, however, met with stiff resistance as the soldiers in the area took them on a fierce firefight that lasted about an hour.
Following the gunfight, the insurgents withdrew in disarray with a large number of them suffering fatal injuries, leaving behind several weapons and ammunition.
Yerima listed some of the items recovered by the troops to include an anti-aircraft gun barrel, an AK 47 rifle, a hand-held communication radio, and different calibres of ammunition, among others.
Residents of the communities told newsmen that five soldiers were killed during the attack. “We saw the soldiers carrying corpses of five fallen colleagues after the encounter on Saturday,” one of the leaders of the community using Orange network informed newsmen in Maiduguri.
He alleged that many of the insurgents also died in the gun-duel that lasted several hours.
“The militants withdrew after ”Abatcha’ a top commander was hit, ” He added.