150 Boko Haram Insurgents, 15 Soldiers Killed in Borno – Army

The Nigerian Army said on Tuesday that 15 of its members were killed in a surprise ambush by Boko Haram insurgents at Kafiya Forest of Borno State.

The army, in a statement, debunked reports by some online media websites that over 40 soldiers were lost in the attack, while 65 others were missing in the ambush.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, said explained that said during the incident, over 150 members of the sect were killed while 15 soldiers and one officer died in action, with nine others missing.

According to reports,  the incident occurred along the Baga, Maiduguri road on Friday, September 13, in what can be described as a classic case of operational and communication failure.

The unconfirmed accounts had it that a detachment of soldiers under the 134 Battalion of the 12 Brigade under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) stationed in Kangarwa village in Kukawa local government, had conducted a reconnaissance to gather intelligence around the area, during which they established the presence of previously unnoticed Boko Haram camps.

Due to lack of communication, the troop ran into the terrorists without knowing that the aerial bombardment had been cancelled and they were caught unawares.

The soldiers were trapped in the ambush under heavy fire from the militants who had surrounded the area, leaving at least 40 soldiers dead and 65 others have remained missing.

Those accounts also indicated that the insurgents confiscated a huge cache of weapons from the soldiers after the attack.

But Attahiru  painted a different picture. Though he admitted there was a fierce fighting between the army and the blood thirsty Islamist group, he said that it was the insurgents that suffered higher casualties.

He  disclosed that a key commander of the insurgents, one Abba Goroma was also killed. Attahiru described Goroma as a high value target, on whose head had been placed a N10-million bounty.

'A chief insurgent commander, Abba Goroma, was killed. If you recall, he had a N10-million bounty placed on his head. He is a high value target of the terrorist organisation,' he said.

He said the online reports were grossly exaggerated and should be discountenanced.

'I advise you to discountenance that report. I want to tell you that that report is not true. Yes, there was an encounter between us and members of Boko Haram insurgents but the casualties you read must be discountenanced,” he said.

The army spokesman said that there was fierce fight between the troops of 81 Battalion from the new 7 Division of the Nigerian Army and members of Boko Haram on September 12, but insisted it was the insurgents that sustained the high casualties. He said despite the spirited resistance by the terrorist group, the troops of the Nigerian Army were able to dislodge them from their Kafiya Forest camp bases, which he added was one of their remaining safe havens.

Attahiru said: 'There was an encounter between us and the insurgents at Kafiya Forest. On September 12, 2013, troops of the 81 Battalion, under the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, carried out a deliberate attack by assaulting the enemy camp, the insurgents' camp, at Kafiya Forest.

'The battle was very fierce and it lasted for several hours. The enemy camp was well fortified with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons mounted on vehicles.

'At the end of the fire-fight, over 150 insurgents were killed and the enemy or insurgent camps cleared. We lost an officer and 15 soldiers killed in action, while nine soldiers are missing.'