Boko Haram terrorists yesterday suffered a major defeat when soldiers repelled an early morning attack on
Konduga town, killing at least 200 of them, security sources said. According to an insider in Maiduguri, the terrorists were led by one notorious Amir, a top leader of the sect, who also died hours after he was picked alive with serious injuries. The officer said the insurgents, in their relentless bid to invade Maiduguri, were ambushed by the Nigerian soldiers in Konduga, 35km away from Maiduguri, and a no-mercy onslaught followed. “So far this has been the most successful outing in recent times, because we left no stone unturned,” said the officer.
“We’ve had hints in the last two days that they would be attacking Konduga with the intention of taking and using the town to launch a major attack on Maiduguri; we waited patiently for the day and, as God would have it, they came as expected. “Unfortunately for them, our men were fully mobilized for the engagement and we’re able to hold them for hours until every one of them dropped dead. “We counted up to 200 of them, including one that was attempting suicide bombings. We also shot dead their cameraman and recovered his camera; there were over 200 of their corpses littering everywhere.” The source added that six of the vehicles that the terrorists used were recovered and brought to the barracks in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Another top military officer who also confirmed the Konduga attack to LEADERSHIP Weekend in a phone interview said “it is a big victory and our soldiers were disciplined and gallant all through the operation”. “It was what we can call ‘operation totality’, because we didn’t record one single casualty on our part and we ensured that not a single one of them escaped,” said the top soldier who wouldn’t want to be named in this report. The officer added that the Boko Haram kingpin who led the operation was recognized as one that fits the description given by one escaped retired soldier that was abducted by the Boko Haram terrorists sometime last year.
“The Amir was alive for some hours before he later died due to serious injury he sustained, but he was heavily bearded and huge, just like that escaped old soldier described to the security intelligence operatives while he was being debriefed. But the big news is that he is dead because we gathered he was one of the deadliest leaders in the sect,” the source said. Konduga wasn’t the only victory story for the Nigeria soldiers.
LEADERSHIP Weekend also gathered that another unit of the Boko Haram terrorists met its waterloo at a village called Ngom, about 15km from Maiduguri. According to a local vigilante official who preferred anonymity because the soldiers warned them against speaking on any military operation, “Our soldiers have made us proud at noon of today (Friday) near Ngom, a village market not up to 20km away from Maiduguri, when the insurgents attempted to invade Maiduguri through the Gamboru-Ngala highway. They were repelled by the soldiers. Many were killed and some of them ran away, abandoning their vehicles.” It was reliably gathered that the insurgents, perhaps in anger and frustration over their defeat in Konduga, tried to invade Maiduguri through the Gamboru-Ngala road. They attacked traders at the Ngom market, killing 13 members of Civilian-JTF and four civilians before the military arrived to repel them.
Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, was woken by some friendly gun-shooting by soldiers at the outskirts of the city, along the Konduga-Maiduguri road. It was later gathered that the soldiers were reacting with friendly firing as they got the hint of the ongoing face-off with Boko Haram in Konduga. Military choppers continued to hover over the city all day, as residents began to worry over the tensed situation there. The scary atmosphere later simmered
when the victory news of Konduga and Ngom reached the city. The Nigerian Army confirmed the victory it recorded in repealing the insurgents through a signed statement by Colonel T.O Antigha on behalf of the director of army public relations: “At about 5:30am today, Boko Haram terrorists launched a massive attack on Konduga town, about 35 kilometres from Maiduguri. After about three hours of fierce fighting, Nigerian troops routed the Boko Haram fighting force of over a hundred terrorists.
“Further to the staggering loss of men, Boko Haram also suffered extensive losses in equipment. Specifically, three Hilux and one Buffalo vehicles with mounted anti-aircraft guns, three general-purpose machine guns, over 30 AK-47 rifles and two global positioning systems have been recovered. Four Nigerian soldiers were wounded in action. “The entire area is still being combed for terrorists who may have escaped with bullet wounds. Morale of troops remains very high.
Photographs taken at the scene of the battle are being expected and will be forwarded as soon as they are received.” The new development, according to the statement, is traceable to the directive given by the chief of army staff, Lt Gen Kenneth Mimimah, asking troops to liberate every town and village where the terrorists had declared their territory.
Konduga town, killing at least 200 of them, security sources said. According to an insider in Maiduguri, the terrorists were led by one notorious Amir, a top leader of the sect, who also died hours after he was picked alive with serious injuries. The officer said the insurgents, in their relentless bid to invade Maiduguri, were ambushed by the Nigerian soldiers in Konduga, 35km away from Maiduguri, and a no-mercy onslaught followed. “So far this has been the most successful outing in recent times, because we left no stone unturned,” said the officer.
“We’ve had hints in the last two days that they would be attacking Konduga with the intention of taking and using the town to launch a major attack on Maiduguri; we waited patiently for the day and, as God would have it, they came as expected. “Unfortunately for them, our men were fully mobilized for the engagement and we’re able to hold them for hours until every one of them dropped dead. “We counted up to 200 of them, including one that was attempting suicide bombings. We also shot dead their cameraman and recovered his camera; there were over 200 of their corpses littering everywhere.” The source added that six of the vehicles that the terrorists used were recovered and brought to the barracks in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
“The Amir was alive for some hours before he later died due to serious injury he sustained, but he was heavily bearded and huge, just like that escaped old soldier described to the security intelligence operatives while he was being debriefed. But the big news is that he is dead because we gathered he was one of the deadliest leaders in the sect,” the source said. Konduga wasn’t the only victory story for the Nigeria soldiers.
LEADERSHIP Weekend also gathered that another unit of the Boko Haram terrorists met its waterloo at a village called Ngom, about 15km from Maiduguri. According to a local vigilante official who preferred anonymity because the soldiers warned them against speaking on any military operation, “Our soldiers have made us proud at noon of today (Friday) near Ngom, a village market not up to 20km away from Maiduguri, when the insurgents attempted to invade Maiduguri through the Gamboru-Ngala highway. They were repelled by the soldiers. Many were killed and some of them ran away, abandoning their vehicles.” It was reliably gathered that the insurgents, perhaps in anger and frustration over their defeat in Konduga, tried to invade Maiduguri through the Gamboru-Ngala road. They attacked traders at the Ngom market, killing 13 members of Civilian-JTF and four civilians before the military arrived to repel them.
Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, was woken by some friendly gun-shooting by soldiers at the outskirts of the city, along the Konduga-Maiduguri road. It was later gathered that the soldiers were reacting with friendly firing as they got the hint of the ongoing face-off with Boko Haram in Konduga. Military choppers continued to hover over the city all day, as residents began to worry over the tensed situation there. The scary atmosphere later simmered
when the victory news of Konduga and Ngom reached the city. The Nigerian Army confirmed the victory it recorded in repealing the insurgents through a signed statement by Colonel T.O Antigha on behalf of the director of army public relations: “At about 5:30am today, Boko Haram terrorists launched a massive attack on Konduga town, about 35 kilometres from Maiduguri. After about three hours of fierce fighting, Nigerian troops routed the Boko Haram fighting force of over a hundred terrorists.
“Further to the staggering loss of men, Boko Haram also suffered extensive losses in equipment. Specifically, three Hilux and one Buffalo vehicles with mounted anti-aircraft guns, three general-purpose machine guns, over 30 AK-47 rifles and two global positioning systems have been recovered. Four Nigerian soldiers were wounded in action. “The entire area is still being combed for terrorists who may have escaped with bullet wounds. Morale of troops remains very high.
Photographs taken at the scene of the battle are being expected and will be forwarded as soon as they are received.” The new development, according to the statement, is traceable to the directive given by the chief of army staff, Lt Gen Kenneth Mimimah, asking troops to liberate every town and village where the terrorists had declared their territory.
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