By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri
About 68 Boko Haram fighters were killed yesterday by the military as they attempted to capture Konduga town in Borno state, residents and security sources said.
The town is located about 45 kilometers from Maiduguri, the state capital, but they were repelled by the military Joint Task Force (JTF) stationed there.
This is coming barely eight hours after the Monday Market twin bomb blasts in Maiduguri.
A senior security officer based in Konduga told newsmen that the militants came in their hundreds trying to enter the town, “but our men were able to clear them.”
“Many of them were killed,” he added. “Nobody can tell you the number of those killed and wounded, but not less than 67 Boko Haram insurgents were killed while many were wounded and ran away.
“It took us not less than two to three hours to bring them down or repel them since we are ready and prepared for them any time.
“Our men have really done a god job and were courageous and brave enough to clear the terrorists.”
Another source, a resident of Konduga, one Goni Modu, told Blueprint on phone that the insurgents arrived around 8 p.m. and it took the military almost three hours to repel them.
He said the town was thrown into confusion and panic, adding that people were afraid and decided to stay indoors throughout the night.
“There was no movement of vehicles and pedestrians last night,” he said.
Meanwhile, six suspected insurgents were arrested yesterday morning in Damaturu, the Yobe state capital, following a house-to-house search by the military.