By Jutah Gupah Maiduguri
Suspected Boko Haram terrorists in a convoy of Toyota Hilux vehicles and gun trucks attacked Buni/Gari Community military base in Yobe, killing two soldiers with several others missing on Saturday evening. The community is located on south fringe of Sambisa Forest, and 60 kilometres south of Damaturu, the state capital along Biu road. Confirming the attacks on Sunday in Damaturu, a military officer, who was not authorized to speak on incident said: “We were caught unawares, when the insurgents burst into our base, along Damaturu-Biu road with sporadic gun shots. “By the time we could respond, the terrorists set our Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and the base ablaze, before being pursued with a fighter jet and a helicopter gunship.” The military officer said that some of the houses in the community were also torched, with dozens of people fleeing into farmlands and Buni/Yadi Community for safety. The two communities were also in the last six years destroyed by Boko Haram and liberated by the military in 2015. At Buni/Yadi, over 26 students of Federal Government College, Buni/Yadi were also killed in their male and female dormitories in 2013. Besides yesterday’s military officer’s confirmation in Damaturu, there was no official confirmation from security operatives of Operation Lafiya Dole, Theatre Command, Maiduguri. In a related development, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole also foiled two suicide bomb attacks at the Muna Garage on the outskirts of the metropolis. It was learnt that the suspected suicide bombers hurriedly detonated their Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) vests on sighting troops of 195 Battalion on patrol on Saturday. The patrol team; quickly accessed the scene and discovered that; “It was only the female suicide bombers’ vest that was detonated, killing her and the male suicide bomber.” Unfortunately, five members of Civilian-JTF on duty at Muna market were also injured in the blast. The area was cordoned off after the Police Explosives Ordinance Department team was drafted to defuse the other unexploded bombs. The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Red Cross had evacuated the mutilated body parts of suicide bombers, while the wounded persons were taken to 7 Division Hospital, Maiduguri for treatments.
