Nigerian troops destroy 20 Boko Haram camps

Troops of 5 Brigade Nigerian Army, weekend, destroyed all Boko Haram camps and enclaves at the border towns of Kerenowa and Chikun Gudu as well as their contiguous villages in Borno State.

Giving details of the operation, Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman said: “During the operation which is ongoing, troops discovered and destroyed over 20 well-fortified terrorist camps in the general area of Kerenowa.

“The camps include some at the gateway to Kerenowa, Gumada and Dogon Gida. In addition, the troops have also discovered that to evade aerial reconnaissance and bombardment, the terrorists have dug twin tunnels to conceal their facilities and routes in and out of the camp.

“Among facilities discovered were training areas equipped with instructional and training materials that include wooden guns, among others.

“The troops have also cleared Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, along the road linking Marte, New Marte and Kerenowa.

“It is apparent that Boko Haram terrorists lacked the will to fight as they are in obvious disarray, abandoning their camps fleeing and leaving behind vehicles, solar panels used to power devices, food and other logistics, beddings, various IEDs-making devices, cables and cords.

“The advancing troops’ morale remains very high and they exude confidence and zeal to destroy all known Boko Haram camps along their axis of advance.

“We still reiterate our call for citizens to remain confident in the ability of our troops to eliminate all remaining vestiges of the terrorists before the year runs out in line with Presidential directives.

“Citizens are also requested to kindly provide useful and credible information to the military about any known terrorists or sympathizers.”

Blast kills 5

In a related development, Borno Police Command, yesterday, confirmed the killing of five persons in Saturday’s suspected suicide attack near Maiduguri.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aderemi Opadokun, made this known at a news conference in Maiduguri

He said:“There was explosion on Saturday, when four suspected female suicide bombers detonated explosives at Dala Yazaraye village, near Molai on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

“Five persons, including the four suicide bombers died in the explosion.“

Opadokun said security agents had cordoned off the scene.

He said: “Four people sustained injury and were taken to hospital. The area has been rendered safe by EOD personnel at the scene.“