by Adeola Balogun

The crackdown on Boko Haram members in Borno State continues as the army has dealt a big blow to the sect by reducing its numbers by 30.

Security troops attached to the 7 Division in Maiduguri conducted a major raid yesterday on the sect’s hideouts at Ajigi, Kafa and Izza villages of Bama and Damboa council areas of the state.

Those felled by the army’s bullets reportedly include a leader in the sect. The troops reportedly intercepted the suspected terrorists following a tip-off about a possible strike.

Nigerian Eye reports:

Also killed were unspecified members of the group at Izza village in Bama town just as five Hilux vehicles mounted with anti-air craft guns and one 18-seater bus with foodstuff belonging to the terrorists were destroyed.

A statement by the military spokesman in Maiduguri, Captain Aliyu Danja, yesterday, said the operation involved air strikes and ground attacks.

Danja also said that the pre-emptive attack followed intelligence reports about plans by the insurgents to attack Bama and other towns in the state.

The statement read: “Our troops launched separate attacks on Boko Haram enclaves in different parts of BornoState, where we killed 30 of them in Ajigi and Kafa villages of Damboa Local Government Area.

“Those killed were suspected to be the group of terrorists that fled Damboa town, following an encounter with the security forces last Sunday.

“Also, a pre-emptive attack on Boko Haram concentration at Izza town in Borno State, Sunday afternoon, led to the killing of an unspecified number of the sect’s members.”