JTF Men Execute 20 Boko Haram Members

MAIDUGURI, August 12, (THEWILL) – Men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) of the Military in Maiduguri, Borno State, have killed 20 adherents of the Boko Haram Islamist sect in what is perhaps its most massive offensive against the terrorist group.

However, the sect, in return, also gunned down a soldier and injured two others during the shootout, which occurred on Saturday night in the northern city.

“The clampdown happened after the JTF received an intelligence report that members of the sect were meeting at one of their hideouts within the Maiduguri metropolis to hatch a plan attack on the town,” revealed a Military source who spoke anonymously to THEWILL, adding that “if they had not moved immediately for the sect members, the town would perhaps have been on fire by now.”

Speaking on the operation to newsmen, field operations officer of the JTF in the state, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme confirmed that 20 sect members were killed alongside a soldier, while two other soldiers also sustained gunshot wounds.

“We got intelligence reports that some suspected Boko Haram terrorists were having a meeting at a particular location in the metropolis,” he said. “While we approached the venue of their meeting, the terrorists opened fire on the JTF, leading to the killing of 20 of the terrorists. We lost one soldier while two others sustained injuries.”

The Saturday night success comes as build-up on an earlier success the same day, when the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the State Security Service (SSS) raided hideouts of suspected members of the sect in Kano, which yielded the arrest of three men, and recovery of 33 highly placed improvised explosive devices (IEDS) and 739 rounds of ammunitions.