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Nigerian army foils attack as 2 bombers blow themselves up in Borno

Nigerian army foils attack as 2 bombers blow themselves up in Borno

Nigeria

A day after a video purportedly coming from Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect, seemed to highlight the tight situation in which the group finds itself, the Nigerian army reports that they foiled a suicide attempt on Friday.

In a terse statement from the spokesperson of the army, Colonel Sani Usman, it took the alertness of troops and a Civilian Joint task Force to foil the attempt of two suicide girls attacking innocent people in Borno State.

‘‘The troops intercepted 2 female suicide bombers at about 1.20am this morning, almost 100 metres south of Umurari village, outskirts of Maiduguri.

However, one of the suicide bombers on sighting own troops detonated her explosive device, killing herself instantly, while the second bomber in an attempt to escape was gunned down by one of the Garrison snipers,’‘ the statement read in parts.

7 DIVISION GARRISON INTERCEPTED SUICIDE BOMBERShttps://t.co/YqQvCMILfc pic.twitter.com/kwWZF0QR00

— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) March 25, 2016

He further disclosed that the Police and Army’s Explosive Ordinance Device team also safely detonated the unexploded Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) strapped on the gunned down suicide bomber.

He assured the public that the army and the JFT were doing everything possible to ensure the safety of people living in the area. It would be recalled that Umarari village was the last place two suicide bombers detonated bombs in a mosque during dawn prayers.

The Shekau Video, discountenanced by Army

Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, released a video that cut pale shadow of the formerly energetic gun totting rebel chief who promised to establish an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria’s north.

The recent video is described as one of poor quality, uncharacteristically short and showing a Shekau who seems to be giving his last words to the members of the group.

He speaks in fluent Arabic before translating the contents of his delivery in the Hausa language. The army after scrutinizing the video asked Nigerians to discountenance the video and that it could be a ploy by Boko Haram to catch the public off guard.

VIDEO: Alleged Boko Haram Video Depicting Leader Shekau Surrendering BokoHaramWatch https://t.co/Y2Z26YURhX

— Sahara Reporters (SaharaReporters) March 25, 2016

Boko Haram group

The Boko Haram group which is reportedly weakening as the Nigerian army intensifies air and land raids on their strongholds have long used suicide bombings in soft targets among civilian populations.

President Buhari’s resolve to eradicate the group has seen the top brass of the army changed and equipment supplied to confront the Boko Haram menace that has led to the loss of lives and properties over the past few years.

The group that announced its affiliation with the Islamic State has been losing grounds with a heated onslaught from the Nigerian army. The Army insists that the group is now confined to the Sambisa forest and would soon be history.

The group has also become a headache for neighboring countries in the Lake Chad Region, having carried out cross border attacks in Niger, Chad and the far North of Cameroon.

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