Boko Haram Attacks Two Nigerian Villages, Kills Nine

Local Editor

At least nine people had been killed in fresh attacks by terror group Boko Haram in north east Nigeria.

The Takfiri outfit set houses on fire in the villages of Tadagara and Dunbulwa in Yobe, one of the states that bore the brunt of the deadly insurgence.

Witnesses said the terrorists attacked the villages with assault rifles and looted shops and houses before torching them. "Boko Haram gunmen came on motorcycles and opened fire on the village after we had retired for the night and killed nine residents," one survivor said.

"We fled into the bush ‎from where we saw fire erupting from our homes as the gunmen set them alight after looting them."

Villagers in Dunbulwa managed to escape as they had been advised by civilians fleeing from Tadagara, which was attacked first.

The latest attack came one day after the insurgents killed at least seven people in the restive Borno state, Boko Haram's birthplace.

Boko Haram has killed more than 13,000 people since its insurgence became violent in 2009.

The Nigerian army recently announced that a new task force - comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin - is ready to take over the ongoing fight against the terrorists.

The 8,700-strong force is expected to be more efficient than the current offensive. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari named Major General Iliya Abbah as the head of it.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team