Boko Haram kills 60 soldiers, civilians in Borno

The attacks on Monguno and Nganzai communities came days after the armed fighters launched a severe attack on Gubio and killed about 81 residents.

According to residents and a civilian task force fighter, Boko Haram fighters, who were armed with heavy arms including rocket launchers, stormed the communities and unleashed terror on military officers and civilians that tried to restrict them.

As gathered, the fighters then overran government forces, left with some casualties but killed at least 20 soldiers and roamed the area for three hours looting, to ascertain if the soldiers died, and to effect their supremacy.

An eyewitness narrated that the insurgents also burned down the United Nations’ humanitarian hub in the area and set fire to the local police station.

While leaving, the fighters handed letters written in Hausa language to residents and warned that they should desist from working with the military or international aid groups.

In Nganzai at about the same time on yesterday, residents and a Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) fighter, told newsmen that the insurgents arrived the community on motorcycles and in pick-up trucks and killed more than 40 residents.

Boko Haram and its offshoot, ISWAP have killed thousands and displaced millions in northeastern Nigeria.

ISWAP claimed the two Saturday attacks as well as the Gubio attack.