Boko Haram Islamists
claimed five lives in an attack on a mosque in
northeast Nigeria over the weekend, before
being repulsed by soldiers who killed 15 of the
insurgents, the military said in a statement
Sunday.
The latest attack by the extremist group,
which has been waging an insurgency since
2009, struck on Saturday morning at Damboa
town in Borno state, the group’s stronghold.
“The terrorists… attacked worshippers in a
mosque and killed five of them who came to
perform their morning prayers,” said the
military’s statement quoting captain Aliyu
Ibrahim Danja, army spokesman for the
region.
“They also set ablaze the official residence
and palace of the District Head along with
some shops.
“While they were unleashing their mayhem,
troops under 7 Division engaged the terrorists,
killing 15 in the process while others fled in
disarray.”
Borno was placed under a state of emergency
in mid-May, when the military shut down the
mobile phone network to block Islamists from
coordinating attacks in an operation aimed at
crushing the insurgency.
With the communication network switched off,
details of attacks have been slow to emerge
and difficult to verify.
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