Self-defense fighters said Wednesday that they fought alongside Nigerian soldiers to kill 150 Boko Haram militants.
Sophisticated weapons were recovered and 36 women including children were rescued by the security agents during the operation along Ser-Jaji border communities of Madagali — Gwoza.
Jubilant civilians who participated in Tuesday night’s assault said they went to the Madagali and Gwoza areas, acting on intelligence that the extremists were planning a large attack.
Self-defense fighter Bukar Jimeta said they killed at least 150 militants and recovered guns and explosives. Suicide bombings have killed hundreds in recent months. Head of Operations, Civilian hunters, Young Morris, said they rescued 36 kidnapped children and women.
Morris promised that they would continue to support the fight against the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents.
He said, “Yes, the operation was a success, because women and children numbering 36 were rescued. Weapons which include AK 47 rifles, double barrels and 155 cattle and sheep were also recovered and deposited at the military base in Madagali.”
Nigeria’s military has been promising a final onslaught against the militants, whose six-year uprising has killed 20,000 people. On Tuesday, they called for insurgents to surrender. Boko Haram denies that scores of extremists have turned themselves in.
The group is suspected to have killed two soldiers in neighboring Niger on Wednesday, said Hassam Ardo Ido, secretary general of the government of Diffa.
Jihadists went to the Diffa town barracks at 2 a.m. on Wednesday and detonated explosives at the door, killing two soldiers, he said. Diffa is near the border with Nigeria.
Boko Haram members have attacked Diffa over the past year because Niger’s military is among those taking part in a regional effort to defeat the extremists. The group is also suspected in a bombing there this month that killed seven people.
The United Nations says Niger is home to some 138,000 refugees who have fled Nigeria.
