Boko Haram Kills So Many Soldiers In Yobe

Boko Haram fighters defied Nigerian military security and stormed a major community in Yobe State on Wednesday, leaving at least eight soldiers killed and many others wounded, military sources have told PREMIUM TIMES.

It was a major market day in Geidam when the insurgents arrived in a convoy of 12 gun trucks at about 6:00 p.m., sending residents and traders from nearby communities scampering for safety. The insurgents looted several grocery stores before torching them.

The main campus of Mai Idris Alooma Polytechnic in the community was also attacked, with its technical equipment plundered.

Military sources said one of the eight military casualties occurred there. The soldier was amongst a team of security personnel, which included police officers, guarding the institution. Many of them fled in the battle.


Troubling development
In separate interviews with PREMIUM TIMES under anonymity on Friday morning, military officers were troubled by Boko Haram’s ability to inflict such damage on an area that had long been fortified to serve as a buffer against unchecked movement of insurgents south of River Komadougou-Yobe.

Geidam has been regularly targeted since November 2011 when Boko Haram launched a string of deadly assaults on residents in the community and Damaturu, the state capital. The military, however, moved swiftly to frustrate easy movement of the insurgents by setting up bases in the communities near River Komadougou-Yobe, which is a minor tributary of the Lake Chad.

While other Yobe communities, especially Buni Yadi, live in fear of regular Boko Haram attacks, Geidam was relatively calm, which security analysts credit to the military’s ability to prevent terrorists from using the nearby river.

But the military base in Geidam, which sits near the border with Diffa, Niger Republic, was perhaps the first target of the latest deadly raid, according to military sources.

The assault, which bore markings of Islamic State’s elements in Boko Haram, forced several soldiers to flee between Wednesday evening when it began and Thursday morning when it ended.