Two Killed, 13 Wounded as Boko Haram Attacks Biu Town

Two Killed, 13 Wounded as Boko Haram Attacks Biu Town

At least two persons have been confirmed dead and 12 others injured in another attack by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

Premium Times reported that four humanitarian workers were reported killed and two others abducted in an earlier attack on Sunday on a village near Maiduguri, the state capital.

The latest attack was on communities on the outskirts of Biu, a major local government headquarters in the state, health officials said.

Biu is the headquarters of the local government area of the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, and the Commander, Multi-National Joint Task Force, Abdulmalik Biu.

On Monday night, the quiet town located 185 kilometres south-west of Maiduguri came under attack by gunmen who had overrun Matahari and Yamarkumi villages at its outskirts.

The insurgents reportedly made their way into Biu using the abandoned Damboa-Biu highway.

Sources from Biu who spoke to Premium Times on phone said the attacked commenced at about 7 p.m. on the villages.

The military has not issued any statement in this regard to confirming the claim.

The Deputy Governor of Borno State, Umar Kadafur, was in Biu, his hometown, when the attack took place. A source in his entourage said the shooting commenced a few hours after they arrived Biu.

A member of the Civilian JTF informed Premium Times that “the two persons killed in the attack were hit by a stray bullet in their house in Yamarkumi.”

He said a military gun truck that broke down during the attack was burnt down by the insurgents.

“But the soldiers were able to remove the arms and ammunition on the truck before the Boko Haram members set them ablaze.”

The source also disclosed that a fighter jet that later came to help the ground troops was able to “destroy some of the Boko Haram insurgents’ vehicles while they were fleeing away.”

He said many of the insurgents were killed, “but their bodies were taken away by their colleagues.”

The deputy governor yesterday visited Biu General Hospital where some of the victims of the attack were receiving medical treatment.

At the hospital, the state Commissioner of Health, Salisu Kwaya-Bura, who was also in the town at the time of the attack, informed the deputy governor that “13 persons sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of stray bullets while trying to escape for their dear lives.”

Kwaya-Bura also said, “two persons died, which bring the total number of casualties to 15.”

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