Follow Us on Google
From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Boko Haram has again overrun a town in the central part of Borno State nearly a month after the resettlement of the residents by the government.
The insurgents stormed Marte, a town at the shores of Lake Chad, at about 5:30 pm on Friday, security sources said.
Residents who were recently relocated and resettled in the town by the state government ran into different directions as the insurgents targeted a military base, the sources claimed.
It was learnt that military troops engaged the insurgents in a gun battle for hours. Details of casualties were sketchy as at press time.
News of the attack was not immediately known in Maiduguri due to a breakdown of telecom services in the area. Marte is some 110 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.
The military in a statement said troops neutralised the terrorists, destroyed seven gun trucks and recovered some arms.
“Troops of Operation TURA TAKAIBANGO in conjunction with the Air Task Force Operation LAFIYA DOLE have effectively destroyed seven Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists’ gun trucks and decimated several unconfirmed numbers of terrorists when they attempted to attack their location at the outskirts of Marte in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State,” Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Defence, Brig Gen Benard Onyeuko disclosed.
