“You Did Not Kill 20 Of Our Members”- Boko Haram Tells JTF

The Joint Task Force ( JTF)  had claimed it recorded tremendous success over terrorists yesterday when they killed at least twenty gunmen in the capital city of Borno, Maiduguri.

It was gathered that the shootout that lasted for hours left 20 gunmen dead, also leading to the death of a soldier.

However, the Islamic sect popularly called Boko Haram has denied the killing of its members by the  JTF as claimed, stating that the killing of oof the 20 members as claimed was not true.. According to Abul Qaqa, spokesman of the group:  “They (JTF) only succeeded in killing innocent civilians, as  it is not possible for 20 of our members to sit in a volatile place and hold meeting; it is not possible”. Qaqa who disclosed this through a telephone conversation had avowed that until Nigeria becomes an Islamic country, it won’t give up in its campaign against the Nigerian government and its people.

Meanwhile,  the Field Operations Officer of JTF in Borno State, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme said: “We got intelligence report that some suspected Boko Haram terrorists were having a  meeting at a particular location in the metropolis. As we approached the venue of their meeting the suspects opened fire on the JTF which led to the killing of 20 of them, while we lost one soldier and two others sustained injury.”

Military source had revealed that, “the suspected terrorists were planning attack on the town”, stating that if not for the action and the timely intervention by the JTF, the state would have been worried by now.

Ebhaleme said the current achievement of the JTF team in its crackdown on terrorists was due to the change in strategy. He said the new tactics tagged “Humanitarian Line of Operation” tried to embrace the civil society who are now very helpful