Boko Haram militants have
launched an attack on a military
base in the northwest Cameroonian
city of Kolofata, police and
government officials say.
Monday’s attack came a day after
blasts struck an open market
selling mobile handsets in the
town of Potiskum in Yobe State,
one of three northeastern states
repeatedly targeted by Boko
Haram.
“As soon as people heard the first
gunfire, they fled the city,” a police
source told the AFP news agency on
Monday, adding: “The gunfire was
very heavy.”
Issa Tchiroma, Cameroon’s
communication minister and
government spokesperson, told Al
Jazeera that between 200 and 300
Boko Haram fighters had been
killed in the attack.
He also said Cameroonian soldiers
had seized heavy military
equipment and vehicles from Boko
Haram, apparently during a recent
attack by the group on Nigeria’s
northeastern town of Baga.
Al Jazeera could not independently
verify the minister’s claims.
Citing military sources, Eugene
Nforngwa, a local journalist, told Al
Jazeera by email that one
Cameroonian soldier of the Rapid
Response Battalion (BIR in French)
was killed and another wounded in
Monday’s clashes.
“Kolofata does not share a
boundary with Cameroon, which
means the militants travelled at
least 10km into Cameroon,” he said.
“Cameroonian military
spokesperson Colonel Didier
Badjec confirmed the attack and
said he was preparing a press
statement, which will be published
later today.”
Sources said Kolofata is on a hill,
which gave Cameroonian troops
strategic advantage over Boko
Haram fighters.