The leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamists, Abubakar Shekau, has claimed a daring December 20 raid on a military barracks in the restive northeast, in a video obtained by AFP Friday.
The insurgents stormed the barracks in the town of Bama in a convoy of trucks before sunrise, opened fire on the soldiers inside then torched the compound. Several witnesses said the gunmen kidnapped soldiers as well as women and children.
“Our fighters stormed the Bama barracks,” Shekau said, while seated on a mat and flanked by a group of armed men.
Shekau has released a series of videos since taking control of the rebel group more than three years ago. The latest recorded statement was delivered to AFP through the same channel as previous messages.
“This is a victory from Allah,” said the wanted insurgent leader after claiming to have destroyed “21 armoured tanks” and killed “multitudes” in the raid.
The Nigerian military claimed 15 soldiers died in the combat, while it claimed that its men killed 50 terrorists. According to the defence ministry, more than 50 “terrorists” were killed when ground forces backed by fighter jets pursued the fleeing Islamists after the raid.
Residents told AFP that an unknown number of civilians were killed and four villages destroyed during the military response
Shekau has been declared a global terrorist by the United States, which put a $7 million (5.1 million euros) bounty on his head. Nigeria has separately offered 50 million naira ($300,000) for information leading to his capture or death.
In the video, Shekau appeared to mock the notion that one of his loyalists would betray him in exchange for a reward.
“What is 50 million naira? We do not worship money. As for those who are in our midst, Allah has taken care of them,” he said.
The Bama attack was the second major strike on the military in the northeast this month and was seen as a reminder that more than seven months into a military offensive aimed at crushing the insurgency, Boko Haram remains capable of striking high profile targets.
The group’s four-year insurgency, which seeks to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, has killed thousands.
Video credits: TVC News, AFP
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God help thy country, pls listen 2 our cries
ReplyDeleteMr.Shekau or whatever you call ursef,you are busy wasting the life of people,those created in the image of God and you are boosting.Let NE mark this comment,before 2014 runs out,Mr.Shekau's end will surely come to pass,except he repent and stop taking lifes that he did not create.That is all I have to say for now.
ReplyDeleteMy worry is how is he able to send broadcast to a firm (AFP/TVC News) and the US/Nigeria that put so much booty on his head can not get the link and trace this monter.Atleast someone had contact with the AFP/TVC News and they are still operational.Abi are they ghosts?
ReplyDeleteThat's right!
ReplyDelete