Boko Haram gunmen fought running battles with Nigerian troops on the streets of the northeastern city of Damaturu on Friday, in an apparent reprisal attack after a recent raid on a militant stronghold, residents told AFP.
“The gunmen arrived at around 7:30 pm (1830 GMT), firing guns and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar!’ (God is greatest),” said Mukhtar Sani, a student of the Yobe State University in the city.
Troops intercepted the Islamists and Aishatu Bala, who lives nearby, added: “All the streets are deserted. Everybody has moved indoors and all we hear are sounds of gunfire.”
Umar Haruna, a civil servant residing in Damaturu also stated that the city and its residents have come under attack again.
He said the attack started at about 8p.m.
“We are under attack; gun shooting everywhere in Damaturu…we dont know what to do now,” he said.
A top security officer of the State Security Service, SSS, who refused to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the development, told our correspondent via SMS that “Yes, there is an attack going on here and I believe the soldiers and the police are containing the attacks”.
via nigerianeye
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