MAIDUGURI/BAUCHI, Nigeria, (Reuters) – Nigeria’s military repelled multiple attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants on Borno state capital Maiduguri in the northeast, security sources said yesterday, but the insurgents captured another Borno town.
The assault on Maiduguri, with a population of around two million, began just after midnight. Sources at two hospitals said at least eight people had died and 27, mostly civilians, had been injured. A second attempt to take the city’s airport in the afternoon was also repelled.
A raid on Monguno, 140 km (80 miles) north, began later in the morning and the town fell under militant control by the late afternoon.
“An exclusive coordinated air campaign has taken over from ground forces in Monguno, as troops had to retreat from the location,” defence spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said in an emailed statement.
The militants also simultaneously attacked another town, Konduga, which is 40 km (24 miles) from Maiduguri, but the military said it had thwarted the raid.