Security operatives kill seven Boko Haram members in Dapchi

A team of security operatives in Dapchi, Yobe State have killed seven suspected Boko Haram members in the state.

The insurgents were said to have attacked the community on Monday, shooting sporadically but were later engaged in a firefight by troops and policemen deployed in the area.

According to local sources, three soldiers and one mobile policeman were injured in the gunfight which lasted about four hours, although calm has returned to the community.

The palace of the district head, a maternity clinic, and part of the Divisional Police Station were said to have been burnt by the attackers.

Some of the attackers also carted away with food palliatives brought to the palace of the district head by the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

The military’s fighter jets were said to have destroyed two Toyota Hilux vehicles belonging to the attackers.

Dapchi, which is 100 kilometres from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, was last attacked on March 5 when seven mobile police officers were killed.

In February 2018, insurgents attacked the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi and kidnapped over 100 students.

The students were later freed, but one of the girls – Leah Sharibu, has remained in captivity for more than two years.

In a similar development, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole successfully repelled an attack by insurgents on Gajigana in Nganzai Local Government Area of Borno State.

The military in a statement explained that the terrorists were advancing to attack troops’ location at Gajigana when the soldiers engaged them in exchange of fire.

Several terrorists were said to have been killed during the encounter.