Heavy bombardment as Boko Haram attacks Borno town again

The serenity of Ville town in Askira/Uba Local Government, south of Borno, was yesterday broken as the military engaged suspected Boko Haram fighters in a fierce battle through air strike following over three hours attack in the area.

Scores, including residents and many of the attackers, died, a security source told Daily Sun in Maiduguri
Residents said the insurgents, who disguised as traders on their way to the neighbouring Lassa Market in about three cars and a pick up van, opened fire on the people.Continue...


“I counted about 20 corpses after the attack. Some members of the vigilance groups were also victims but the vigilantes also killed 20 of the insurgents,” Bulus Yohana told Daily Sun on phone.

Another resident claimed five of the vigilance men were killed, adding that the vigilantes engaged Boko Haram in a fierce battle.

“People fled into the neighbouring bushes. The Boko Haram men pretended as if they were going to Lassa because today (Monday) is the Lassa Market Day but they turned out to be Boko Haram,” the resident, who declined to give his name, said.

Residents described the attack as a coordinated one, saying the insurgents operated for over three hours, as the military deployed its fighter jet on air bombardment.
“Many of the Boko Haram members were killed,” a source said, adding that the insurgents burnt many houses and vehicles.

Daily Sun gathered that while the air bombardment by the military was going on, residents and the vigilance men at Lassa, a neighbouring town which hosts a federal institution, about seven kilometres away, mobilised to prevent the attackers from fleeing the town. But some residents of Lassa claimed the military jet was releasing bullets on their houses, causing pandemonium in the town.