Nigeria: Boko Haram ‘sets ablaze 300 vehicles’ in Maiduguri

Suspected Boko Haram members on Saturday set ablaze 300 vehicles in Damboa, situated 87 kilometres from Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria’s northern Borno state, in continuation of their attacks on the town, the local media reported Sunday.

The attack came a day after the sect members hit a police station and a military post in the town and killed 11 residents.

According to Sunday’e edition of the National Mirror, the perpetrators of Friday’s attack re-mobilised and returned to the community.

They used Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to blow up vehicles, shops and homes, while at the same time firing sporadically in the air.

The paper quoted a top military officer as confirming the incident and saying more soldiers
have been dispatched to the affected area to confront the Boko Haram insurgents.

After a lull in attacks, caused by the massive deployment of troops to the three states (Adamama, Borno and Yobe) in which President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state pf emergency last May, Boko Haram has launched a series of new attacks, especially in Borno
state, in recent times.

On Sunday, another local newspaper, Vanguard, reported that President Jonathan is sending 8,000 fresh troops to combat the insurgents.

Boko Haram launched its violent campaign in 2009, shortly after the killing of its leader, Muhammed Yusuf, and has since killed over 3,000 people in bomb and gun attacks in the predominantly-Muslim northern Nigeria.

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