E-Paper
16 Boko Haram fighters, 2 soldiers killed in Nigeria shootout
Nigerian officials say 16 Boko Haram fighters and two soldiers have been killed when the extremists tried to ride explosives-laden motorcycles into an army base in the country’s volatile northeast.
Nigerian officials say 16 Boko Haram fighters and two soldiers have been killed when the extremists tried to ride explosives-laden motorcycles into an army base in the country’s volatile northeast.
An army spokesperson, Col Sani Kukasheka, said in a statement on Sunday that soldiers at the base in Rann in Borno state repelled the extremists with a gunfight that went on for hours.
He said two soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber drove into a truck and exploded. Kukasheka said soldiers found most of the bodies of the attackers today morning, but he added that “quite a number escaped with gunshot wounds.”
Boko Haram’s nearly seven-year-old insurgency has killed some 20,000 people and forced 2 million from their homes. The Nigeria-based group last year began regular attacks in neighbouring countries.
