Seven terrorists die in explosive-laden vehicle

Seven suspected Boko Haram
terrorists were on Monday killed
when an Improvised Explosive
Device hidden in a Toyota Pick-up
van they were driving in exploded
before they could get to Biu Market,
Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
A security source, who spoke on
condition of anonymity with our
correspondent from Biu, said the
suspected terrorists hid the
explosives among bags of beans
and maize to create the impression
that they were traders going to the
market. But the IEDs exploded
before they could get to the
market, which the source said was
their main target.
He said, “A Toyota pickup van
loaded with maize and beans with
IED hidden under it belonging to
Boko Haram insurgents exploded
near Chikwarkir village of Biu
killing all its seven occupants.
“The insurgents must have
intended to sneak into Biu Market
to detonate the explosives and
thereby kill many people. As you
know, it is harvest period and
people are taking their farm
produce to the market but thank
God the bomb exploded before
they could get to the market.”
The soldier said that the insurgents
must have specifically chosen
Monday because they knew that
Monday and Thursday were market
days in Biu town, the headquarters
of Biu Local Government Area of the
state.
A transporter, Yusuf Ahmed, said
they saw on Monday the corpses of
the dead Boko Haram members
along the roadside near Chikwarkir
village.
He said, “We thought they were
victims of an auto crash but the
villagers told us they were
members of Boko Haram sect that
were trying to carry explosives to
Biu Market but it exploded before
they even got to Biu.”
In a related development, scores of
people were also said to have been
killed and houses and shops burnt
when Boko Haram insurgents
attacked Kautikari village in Chibok
Local Government Area of Borno
State.
A resident of the area, who fled to
Biu, told our correspondent on the
telephone on Tuesday that the
insurgents stormed the village on
Monday night and killed scores of
people and burnt some houses and
shops.
He said, “We had to flee to the bush
in the night before returning to the
village the following day to pick
our belongings.”