Public Warning: Boko Haram new tactics to infiltrate populated areas

The Nigerian military has issued a warning to the general public on the new tactics being employed by the Islamic terrorists, Boko Haram to infiltrate the public for their evil act.

Suicide Bomber, Boko Haram

According to a statement issued by the Defence Headquarters, Boko Haram new tactics is to dress its suicide bombers like mad persons to gain access to crowded places before detonating bombs.

It could be recalled that two male suicide bombers dressed like mad women and carried out suicide bomb attack in Gombi, Adamawa State where five people lost their lives and several others were wounded.

In its statement, the DH said ” It has come to the notice of the Defence Headquarters that Boko Haram, in their desperation to cause colossal havoc, have now devised a new method where they dress like mad persons to gain unsuspecting access to public areas to detonate bombs.

“The 2 male suicide bombers, dressed like mad women and carried out suicide bomb attack in Gombi, Adamawa State, is instructive in this direction. Five people lost their lives and several others were wounded in the heinous attack by these ungodly people.

“The Defence Headquarters therefore urges our fellow good citizens across the country to be wary of mad persons approaching markets, public places or crowded areas so as to nip this ugly trend in the bud. Nigerians are also enjoined to be security conscious at all times and should endeavour to report any suspicious person or object to security agencies for prompt action.”

Public Warning: Boko Haram new tactics to infiltrate populated areas

4 suicide bombers, one vigilante killed at Borno checkpoint

One vigilante and four female suicide bombers were killed Wednesday at a checkpoint in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state after one bomber detonated her explosives, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

One bomber blew herself up at a security checkpoint 50 kilometres east of state capital Maiduguri run by civilian vigilantes who help the country’s military fight Boko Haram.

Four girls between the ages of nine and 12 were stopped at the checkpoint in Mafa, according to Muhammad Kanar, head of NEMA for the northeast.

“Suicide bombers tried to enter and they were being intercepted for interrogation,” Ibrahim Abdulkadir, another spokesman for the agency, told AFP.

“One detonated their bomb,” he said, adding “all of them were bombers, all women.”

Last month eight people were killed at the same checkpoint when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives among women and children arriving in Maiduguri seeking to escape Boko Haram violence in the countryside.

Boko Haram jihadists have in recent months been using young women and girls as suicide bombers — a new tactic in the six-year-old armed insurgency which has claimed more than 17,000 lives.

4 suicide bombers, one vigilante killed at Borno checkpoint

My parents volunteered me, says 14-year-old Kano suicide bomber

A 14-year-old Nigerian girl who was arrested with explosives strapped to her body told journalists Wednesday that her parents volunteered her to take part in a suicide attack.

14 years old suspected suicide bomber

The girl, who was identified as Zahra’u Babangida, was arrested in Kano on December 10 following a double suicide bombing in a market that killed 10 people.

She was presented to journalists by police and instructed to recount how Islamist militants allegedly forced her to take part in the attack.

She said her mother and father, both Boko Haram sympathisers, took her to an insurgent hideout in a forest near the town of Gidan Zana in Kano state.

She said one alleged militant leader asked her whether she knew what a suicide bombing was.

“They said, ‘Can you do it?’ I said no.

“They said, ‘You will go to heaven if you do it.’ I said ‘No I can’t.’ They said they would shoot me or throw me into a dungeon,” Zahra’u told journalists.

There was no way to independently verify her story and she had no lawyer present. No information was available concerning the whereabouts of her parents.

Police said they had instructed the girl to tell her story to boost public awareness about those responsible for the December 10 attack.

Faced with the threat of death, Zahra’u said she finally agreed to take part in the attack but “never had any intention of doing it.”

Several days later, Zahra’u said, she and three other girls, all wearing explosives, were brought to the Kantin Kwari market by unidentified men.

Zahra’u said she was injured when one of the girls detonated her bomb and then she fled the scene, ending up at a hospital on the outskirts of Kano where she was discovered to be carrying explosives.

Boko Haram has increasingly used female suicide bombers, including teenagers, as part of their five-year insurgency.

Kano, the largest city in the mainly Muslim north, saw four such attacks in one week in July, while similar bombings have hit the states of Bauchi and Niger.

Experts say the group has used girls as bombers to demonstrate the range of tactics they have available to sow fear across Nigeria.

If confirmed, Zahra’u’s story would be the first known case of parents volunteering their daughter to take part in a deadly attack.

Violence in northern Nigeria has intensified in recent months, raising security fears ahead of February 14 elections.

 

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My parents volunteered me, says 14-year-old Kano suicide bomber

Jungle Justice: Gombe residents burn suspected suicide bomber to ashes

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News

A man suspected to be a suicide bomber in Gombe on Tuesday met his waterloo after been accosted by a group of vigilante.

The man was said to have carried a black pastic rubber bag with an explosives in it. The boys who suspected his movement accosted him and ordered him to show the content of the bag, which he refused.

Scene of jungle justice in Gombe today
Photo Credit: Sahara Reporters Media

Information gathered showered that the bomber was planning to bomb headquarters of state-run Gombe transport line before he ended up blowing himself up.

According to an eyewitness, the man carried a bomb in his bag and was waiting suspiciously to enter the Central Gombe motor park in the afternoon around 2.pm.

His suspicious movement attracted the vigilantes who accosted him and he refused to open his black bag containing the explosives.

One of the vigilante out of patients hit him with  stick and the bomber immediately denoted the bomb, but luckily, he was the only one injured in the process. The crowd gathered around him, spray him with gasoline and burnt him to ashes.

 

 

Jungle Justice: Gombe residents burn suspected suicide bomber to ashes

Boko Haram: Suicide Bombers" Trainer Nabbed With 16 Females

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano has arrested a man suspected to be the master trainer of Boko Haram female suicide bombers with 16 females who were reportedly being trained for suicide operations, Daily Trust, gathered from security sources.

It was gathered that the man identified as Ibrahim Ibrahim was arrested in Dala LGA of Kano during a raid by the Joint Task Force Thursday.

Daily Trust gathered that the females were being trained to carry out suicide bombings when the JTF raided their training ground and arrested them and their trainer.

The just concluded Sallah celebration was marred in the state as female suicide bombers struck at five different locations. About 30 persons lost their lives to the female suicide bombers who were believed to be less than 20 years old.

A security source told our correspondent that the plan of the insurgents was to continue using the female suicide bombers to unleash terror on people of the state. The source added that when interrogated, the suspect disclosed that he brought the bombers from Sambisa forest in Borno State.

“He is still being held and interrogated by the JTF and he is cooperating with the force by divulging vital information about their new strategy of using teenage girls for suicide bombings. I don’t know the exact number of the girls because one of my colleagues who participated in the operation said 13 while the other one said 16,” he said.

A top security source confirmed the arrest but added, “You know we have carried out many recent successful operations recent. I will not like to say much on this latest operation.”

Spokesperson of the JTF in Kano, Captain Ikechukwu Eze, confirmed an operation in Dala local government area.

“There was an operation in Dala where one Ibrahim Ibrahim was arrested alongside some persons. Investigation is still on,” he said in a phone interview.

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Boko Haram: Suicide Bombers" Trainer Nabbed With 16 Females

Chibok girls fingered as suicide bombers

The delay in freeing the over 200 girls seized from Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State, may have exposed them to radicalisation by their captors, who are now using them for suicide bombings, a source told Sunday Vanguard at the weekend.

Chibok girls

The source spoke about the possibility that the girls had been indoctrinated by the terrorists in the last three months of their captivity, hynotised and sent into various parts of Nigeria and beyond with a view to carrying out deadly missions.

Serial attacks carried out by female bombers in Kano, last week, lent credence to the claim.

The source, who has contacts with the Boko Haram leadership, pointed out that it may be difficult to change radical orientation of the girls, who may now see their malevolent disposition as an act of righteousness.

“It may shock you to know that some of the girls being used for suicide bombings in parts of the North are among those taken from Chibok in April this year,” the source said.

Continuing, the source insisted that “it is rather unfortunate that government wasted precious time in rescuing the girls either through negotiation with Boko Haram or other means possible.

“It was clear from the outset that the girls would not come out the same, after being kept with their unwanted hosts for a long time”.

Although the Federal Government said, last Wednesday, that the Chibok girls were not among the female bombers, its spokesman did not provide any evidence to prove his claim.

At a media briefing in Abuja, Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, tried to ward off the suggestion that the 219 school girls currently in the captivity of Boko Haram insurgents could have turned suicide bombers.

It will be recalled that few days after the abduction of the girls, a human rights activist, who had taken part in failed bids to broker a truce between the Federal Government and Boko Haram leadership, Shehu Sani, had raised the alarm that the girls could be indoctrinated if not urgently freed.

Sani told Sunday Vanguard, in an exclusive interview in May, that the prolonged detention of the girls by the terrorists could dramatically alter their fate and orientation.

According to Sani, the longer the girls were being kept by their captors, the higher the potential of their being brainwashed to accept radicalism and terrorism.

He said:”But the danger of keeping these girls, without either using negotiation or force to free them is that, everyday these girls are being brainwashed by the insurgents.

” If we are not careful, the Chibok girls that would come out of captivity would not be the same girls that went into captivity. They would be indoctrinated, they would be hypnotised and brainwashed to the point that they would be transformed into insurgents themselves. And of what use would they be?

“These are very young girls in their teens with very open and vulnerable minds but open to dangerous ideas. You can see how a man would abduct a girl whose parents don’t like him and, by the time the girl comes back she is ready to fight her parents.

“So, the danger is that as the clocks ticks, it is ticking for us , for the girls and for our reputation and integrity as a country”.

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Chibok girls fingered as suicide bombers

Suicide bombers kill 15 civilians, six insurgents in Maiduguri

Twenty-one people died yesterday in a “botched” suicide mission at a Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) facility near Maiduguri, the beleaguered Borno State capital.

Boko Haram leader, Shekau Abubakar

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said the dead were six insurgents and 15 civilians, including a member of Youth Vigilante Group.

It said 17 others were injured in the explosion, which was triggered by the planned suicide bombing.

But one of the suicide bombers was arrested by troops before he could flee the scene.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, gave the update in a statement on the incident after the mop-up operation was concluded by troops.

He said: “Also, 15 civilians, including a member of Youth Vigilante Group, died while 17 others were wounded in the explosion that occurred at Mule near Maiduguri on Tuesday afternoon.

“Eight vehicles were also destroyed in the incident. Six of the terrorists died while one has been arrested.”

Many suspected terrorists were also said to have been shot dead by troops who recovered 15 AK47 rifles and 12 magazines.

Besides, they destroyed 14 vehicles, which were either being used for operation or hidden by the terrorists in various parts of the Sambisa forest.

The botched suicide mission was said to have occurred in Mule in the outskirts of Maiduguri where trucks loading fuel from the depot are parked.

The DHQ has ordered troops to protect all sensitive installations and facilities in Borno and Yobe states.

The foiling of the suicide mission came on a day that Cameroon security forces seized over 288 rifles and 35 Rocket Propelled Guns and 35 (IEDs) from insurgents after a fierce encounter.

A statement by the Director, Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, in Abuuja said: “Four terrorists believed to be suicide bombers, apparently heading for an NNPC facility along Maiduguri-Damboa road, have died in their IED-laden vehicles.

“The explosions took place at Mule on the outskirt of Maiduguri. Three of the four explosive laden vehicles were immobilised by shots fired at them by soldiers at the checkpoint shortly before the explosions that rocked the area.

“Five soldiers were wounded while the civilian casualties are yet to be determined. More details follow later.”

A military source said: “Following intelligence reports on likely huge reprisals from insurgents since the botched March 14 attack on Giwa Barracks, security has been beefed up in all checkpoints.

“These suicide bombers targeted the NNPC depot in Mule and many trucks in the area awaiting loading. But the soldiers at a checkpoint in the area took a pre-emptive step to curtail their mission.

“If the troops had not been on the alert, we would have been faced with a serious disaster.

“Troops are already combing the area to forestall any fresh bid by the insurgents.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “The DHQ has ordered a 24-hour protection for all sensitive installations and facilities in the Northeast, especially Borno-Yobe axis.

“In spite of the recent gains by the troops, the insurgents have not given up. This is why we are unrelenting in mopping up suspected hideouts or camps in this axis.”

The botched suicide mission came on a day Cameroon security forces seized over 288 rifles and 35 Rocket Propelled Guns and 35 locally made IEDs from insurgents after a fierce encounter at Abugasse, which is close to the Chadian border.

The DHQ, in a separate statement by Gen. Olukolade, said: “The resolve for collaborative efforts in fighting terrorism in the sub-region got a boost recently when Cameroon security forces made a huge seizure of arms apparently meant for use by terrorists operating in Nigeria last weekend.

“ Over 288 rifles and 35 Rocket Propelled Guns as well as 35 locally made IEDs were recovered after a fierce encounter at Abugasse, Cameroon, close to the Chadian border.

“Other weapons recovered included pistols, mortar bombs, sub-machine guns and various calibres of ammunition following the arrest of two suspects believed to be major arms suppliers to the terrorists in Nigeria.

“They were nabbed in Abugasse near the Chadian border with Cameroon. Also in their possession were over 50 Cameroonian Passports as well as a Toyota Jeep.

“It will be recalled that the Cameroonian authorities recently pledged to back Nigeria’s counter terrorism efforts.”

The statement gave an update on how Nigerian troops killed many suspected terrorists, destroyed 14 vehicles and recovered 15 AK47 rifles and 12 magazines.

The DHQ said there had been intense operations in Alagamo and Sambisa forest since Monday.

The DHQ added: “Also, the renewed offensive on terrorists by Nigerian troops have continued to record series of arrests of terrorists and recovery of arms, especially close to the nation’s border with Cameroon.

“Apart from arms recovered following disclosure from captured terrorists lately, more arms have been captured in the ongoing offensive in different fronts.

“The arrest at a check point of a terrorist driving in a green Peugeot vehicle with registration number Bauchi 264 AA heading to Maiduguri from Alagarno during the weekend, led to the recovery of 15 AK47 rifles and 12 magazines and various yet to be assembled rifles.

“Meanwhile, the offensive on terrorists in various fronts is continuing. The Alagarno area as well as various points of Sambisa forest and suburbs have been witnessing intense operations since Monday.

“Apart from several dead terrorists, 14 vehicles which were either being used for operation or hidden by the terrorists in various parts of the forests and theatres have been destroyed.

“ Various calibres of weapons and ammunitions were also recovered in the course of fighting and subsequent cordon and search of the areas.

“Intensive air and ground surveillance are also ongoing in the general area.”

Suicide bombers kill 15 civilians, six insurgents in Maiduguri

4 suicide bombers dead on their way to bomb NNPC facility in Maiduguri

Military authority on Tuesday said four persons believed to be terrorists/suicide bombers had died in Maiduguri.

The authority said the suspected bombers were heading to NNPC facility on Maiduguri-Damboa Road when they died in their vehicles laden with Improvised Explosive Devices (IED)

This information is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director of Defense Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade.

The statement said the explosions that led to their death took place at Mule in the outskirts of Maiduguri.

According to the statement, three of the four explosive-laden vehicles were demobilised by shots fired at them by soldiers at the check point shortly before the explosions that rocked the area.

The statement said that occupants of the vehicles were killed in the explosions.

“Five soldiers were wounded while the civilian casualties are yet to be determined”, the statement said, adding that more details of the incident would be released later. (NAN)

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/4-suspected-suicide-bombers-die-maiduguri/#sthash.CQ5DZZ64.dpuf

4 suicide bombers dead on their way to bomb NNPC facility in Maiduguri