Chad: 13 Boko Haram Militants Killed

Local Editor

As a response to the killing of 13 fighters from the Extremist militant group Boko Haram in the Nigerian town of Gambaru, two female suicide bombers attacked the Niger frontier town of Diffa.

The violence on Nigeria's borders with Niger and Cameroon occurred as regional armies were mobilizing to foil Boko Haram's bid to carve out an emirate around Lake Chad, which borders Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

Boko Haram's five-year-old insurgency had killed thousands in northern Nigeria but regional armies said they had killed hundreds of militants in battles along the borders since deploying troops to contain the threat.

Police source, referring to the Diffa attack stated, "There were two suicide attacks carried out on Wednesday by women. The two women died and I think they were the only victims."
Nonetheless, it was not possible to verify whether there were any other casualties.
Earlier, clashes erupted in the Nigerian town of Gambaru, on the eastern border with Cameroon, where Chad deployed hundreds of soldiers to help Cameroon ward off attacks from Boko Haram.

Chad's army said 11 Chadian soldiers were wounded, three out of 14 Boko Haram vehicles were destroyed, and one was seized.
"We knew they were going to attack us. We were waiting. The battle didn't last long. They fled," a military source said.
Further, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin had promised to contribute a total of 8,700 troops to a regional force being set up to defeat Boko Haram, whose insurgency had forced Nigeria to delay its presidential election due on Feb. 14 for six weeks.

Conversely, the details of the plan were still being hammered out and Chad had spearheaded regional effort to deter further attacks by Boko Haram in the region.
Niger's parliament unanimously approved sending troops to northern Nigeria as part of the regional offensive; its President Mahamadou Issoufou called on his countrymen to support the struggle against Boko Haram, in particular by providing intelligence.

Accordingly, Niger officials warned that civilians fleeing northern Nigeria had been infiltrated by Boko Haram fighters. Authorities in Diffa declared a 15-day state of emergency and were searching house-to-house for Boko Haram suspects.
Based on police reports, schools in Diffa were closed and civil servants had left their posts to take their families to more secure towns elsewhere.

Military sources mentioned that Boko Haram assaulted the town of N'Guigmi on Niger's border with Nigeria with mortars and machine guns, but the attack failed; however, they also declared that situation was dangerous as Boko Haram militants might strike at any moment.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team