Boko Haram attacks Maiduguri, explosions kill residents

Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, came under the attack of Boko Haram militants on Saturday morning as the terrorists stormed the town with bombs and heavy shootings.

Five residents reportedly died during the attack while the casualties among the militants has yet to be ascertained.

                

Unconfirmed reports also claimed that 10 persons were killed in the areas that were attacked.

A member of the youth vigilance group, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, said some insurgents attempted to invade the troubled town at about 12.50am on Saturday from the Ajilari Cross and Bintu Sugar areas of the town.

He said the soldiers quickly responded and engaged them before they could advance and overrun the town.

The source added that the fight lasted for about two hours, subsiding at about 2.50am.

“The insurgents were successfully repelled after the heavy shelling, gunshots and explosions. They fled into the dark towards the direction they came from,” he said.

He could not however ascertain the number of casualties.

A resident of Gomari, part of Maiduguri, which is in the same neighborhood with Bintu Sugar, Ibrahim Iliya, who spoke to our correspondents on the telephone, said five residents of the area were killed in the attempted invasion.

Iliya said a stray bullet killed a man who was sleeping in the open as a result of the harsh weather.

He revealed that four people were killed in a house which was affected by the explosion in the area.