Image copyright Boko Haram Image caption Boko Haram, pictured here in a propaganda video, has carried out many attacks in Borno state

Suspected Islamist militants have stormed a village in north-east Nigeria, killing several people.

Reports on the death toll in Mailari, Borno state, differed. A local militia leader said six people had died but a survivor said up to 19 were killed.

The militants ransacked and looted the village for two hours before leaving, witnesses added.

The Boko Haram jihadist group has carried out numerous attacks in Borno state.

Militia leader Babakura Kolo told AFP news agency that the militants had arrived in trucks late on Saturday, firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

"In the confusion, the Boko Haram gunmen seized six men and slaughtered them," Babakura Kolo said.

"The bodies of the six victims were found this morning (Sunday) when residents returned to the burned village."

Villager Aisami Grema said that police stationed nearby had made no attempt to engage the fighters.

Another villager, Abatcha Umar, said he was not sure if the militants were members of Boko Haram or of the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (Iswap).

He said militants had been seen around the village three days before the attack.

Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009 with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate in West Africa.

The conflict has reportedly left around 20,000 people dead and displaced at least two million.</s>Boko Haram fighters have killed more than a dozen people in an attack on a village in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, witnesses say.

Abatcha Umar, a survivor, told Reuters news agency that at least 19 people were killed when the armed group stormed Malari village at around 2am on Sunday.

Umar said he counted 19 bodies, including that of his younger brother, after the attack.

However, an aid worker at a camp that received the survivors, and who declined to be identified, put the death toll at 63.

Hundreds of people from villages in the area have fled to the camp for displaced people in the garrison town of Monguno in Borno state, the aid worker said.

Boko Haram fighters had arrived in trucks at Malari village on Saturday evening, firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades, villagers said.

A village resident, Aisami Grema, said that police stationed in the village did not interfere with the attack.

"The police made no attempt to engage the Boko Haram fighters," Grema told AFP news agency.

The fighters ransacked the village for two hours before leaving, another resident, Masida Umar, said.

The strike is the latest blow to Nigeria's efforts to defeat Boko Haram and allied groups.

On Friday, four farmers were killed when Boko Haram fighters raided crop fields near Maiduguri.

Boko Haram has launched a series of assaults against Nigerian troops, putting pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari's government to tackle insecurity in the country ahead of general elections in February.

In recent months, the military has suffered its heaviest defeats in years, while commanders have been repeatedly replaced, and special forces soldiers have mutinied.

Founded in Maiduguri in 2002, Boko Haram is an armed group that fights against Western influence in West Africa and is active in Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon.

The group's nine-year revolt has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced more than two million from their homes, triggering a dire humanitarian crisis in the remote Lake Chad region.

The majority of the displaced people used to be subsistence farmers, but because of the ongoing violence they can no longer tend to their fields and rely on food handouts from aid agencies to survive.

Chad, Cameroon and Niger have all joined the military effort by Nigeria against Boko Haram.</s>At least six people were killed when Boko Haram jihadists raided a village in northeast Nigeria, burning houses and looting food supplies, a local militia leader and residents said on Sunday.

Boko Haram militants arrived in trucks at Mairari village, 10 kilometres (six miles) from the garrison town of Monguno in Borno state, on Saturday evening, firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

"In the confusion, the Boko Haram gunmen seized six men and slaughtered them," militia leader Babakura Kolo told AFP from the state capital of Maiduguri.

"The bodies of the six victims were found this morning (Sunday) when residents returned to the burnt village," Kolo said.

A village resident, Aisami Grema, gave a similar death toll, adding that police stationed in the village did not fight the Islamists.

"The police made no attempt to engage the Boko Haram fighters," Grema said.

The militants ransacked the village for two hours before leaving, said another resident Masida Umar.

On Friday, four farmers were killed when Boko Haram raided crop fields near Maiduguri.

The attacks on civilians come after the Islamists have launched a series of assaults against Nigerian troops, putting pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari's government to tackle insecurity in Africa's most populous country ahead of general elections in February.</s>The Borno State Police Command yesterday said Boko Haram insurgents on Sunday burnt 40 houses in a reprisal in Mailari, Guzamala Local Government Area.Commissioner of Police Demien Chukwu, who addressed a new s conference, said the terrorists stormed the town, about 8 pm.The command is yet to ascertain the casualty figure.He said: “Two weeks earlier, the vigilante in the community arrested a Boko Haram insurgent with AK-47 rifle, and after beating him, he was handed over to the military.“The militants, who were pissed with the development, launched a reprisal. Luckily, about a week ago, we deployed one full unit of policemen, including SARS, in the community.“Consequently, while returning from their mission, they were repelled by our team on patrol, which prevented them from burning the entire community.”On the Alau Dam attack, Chukwu said preliminary investigations showed the dam was attacked by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.The National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) also alleged the attack may be an act of sabotage by Boko Haram insurgents.The Northeast Zonal Coordinator, Bashir Idris Garga, said the agency’s official Facebook page said: “Following a distress call on the alleged vandalisation of one of the Alau Dam’s pipe, an emergency response team did an on-the-spot assessment to ascertain the situation, though the ERT could not access the source of the incident.“Based on the information gathered on the field, it was one of the dykes close to one of the deserted communities, Bale kayamla, that was washed away, causing no threat to other communities.“The Alau Dam bursts is suspected to be the handiwork of sabotage by insurgents as they were suspected to have destroyed the embarkments meant to control the overflow.“Residents of the areas have been urged to be vigilant.”</s>Boko Haram insurgents have reportedly killed 63 people in Malari, a village in Borno state.

An aid worker at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Monguno, a town in Borno, disclosed this to Reuters.

The aid worker said hundreds of survivors from villages in the area have fled to the IDP camp.

Abatcha Umar, a witness, said the attack took place in the early hours of Sunday.

Umar said he counted 19 bodies, including that of his younger brother.

He added that the militants were spotted around the village three days before their attack and that residents informed soldiers stationed in the nearby town of Gudumbali, but no action was taken.

The attack comes weeks after many soldiers were killed in an ambush in the north-east.

Boko Haram has continued to carry out attacks in the north-east despite efforts by government to subdue the group.</s>A Civilian JTF Commander, Babagana Umar on Monday confirmed to The Nigerian Voice in a telephone conversation that about 50 Boko Haram insurgents stormed Mailari village of Guzamala LGA of Borno State on Sunday night around 9 pm, killing 9 people and wounding several other villagers including the old and children.

He said when his team went to the village on sympathy visit today Monday, they discovered that the BHTs invaded the village using motor cycles and pick up vans according to the few villagers that stayed behind. They attacked the village, burning about 10 shops and carted away livestocks, food items and cash belonging to the villagers in an attack that lasted for about 3 hours.

Umar added that the villagers ran away for safety to other neighbouring villages but returned later to their homes when the BHTs left the village and moved south west of the village probably to regroup in Kangar area.

According to him, socio economic activities of the village was disrupted and the residents of the village were displaced, including their livestock.

He appealed to the military for support and intervention to track the fleeing BHTs and to clear the remnants in order not to spread to other areas. This has become very necessary because of the farming season where farmers and herders may become soft targets for the Boko Haram Terrorists.</s>The Nigerian Army has denied media reports that it has lost over 50 soldiers to Boko Haram terrorists.

The Army said the report which it described as false was one of the many strategies of the Boko Haram terrorists to deceived unsuspected public from know the many successes being recorded by the military in the ongoing war against terrorism.

Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, reacting to the report in a telephone interview in Abuja, insisted that the military troops in the North East were intact, asking Nigerians not to fall prey to the terrorists’ antics.

Chukwu particularly pleaded with the mainstream media not to believe stories he noted the terrorists were planting in some social media platforms.

The Army spokesman, who told newsmen he was right in Maiduguri, Borno State, appealed to all Nigerians to stop taking the claim of terrorists serious.

“There’s no attack against the military troops and our troops are intact. We didn’t lose any troops talk of the number you mentioned to have been killed by the terrorists.

“In fact, as I’m talking to you now, I’m right in Maiduguri, Borno State heading somewhere with some of your colleagues in the state.

“There’s nothing like attack or killing of troops as being claimed. Where did they even get the story that the terrorists kill our men from?

Asked whether there was any attack launched against the troops by the terrorists of recent, he said:”No, the way you in the media are promoting Boko Haram is too much. I have been in Maiduguri since yesterday’s morning . I’m not even going to Abuja now. So there’s nothing like that.”</s>The Borno State Police Command said on Monday that Boko Haram insurgents burnt down 40 houses in a reprisal in Mailari Village in Guzamala Local government Area of the state on Sunday.Mr Demien Chukwu, the Commissioner of Police in the state, who disclosed this at a news conference said that the terrorists stormed the town at about 8pm.</s>The Borno State Police Command said on Monday that Boko Haram insurgents burnt down 40 houses in a reprisal in Mailari Village in Guzamala Local government Area of the state on Sunday.

Mr Demien Chukwu, the Commissioner of Police in the state, who disclosed this at a news conference said that the terrorists stormed the town at about 8pm.

Chukwu said that the command had yet to ascertain the casualty figure.

“Two weeks earlier, the vigilante in that community arrested a Boko Haram element with AK47 and after beating him, he was handed over to the military.

“The marauding militants who were pissed with the development decided to lunch the massive attack to avenge the arrest. They passed several villages on their way to Mailari.

“Luckily, about a week ago, we deployed one full unit of policemen including SARS to protect the community.

“Consequently, while they were returning from their mission, they were repelled by our team on patrol, which prevented them from raising down the entire community,” he said.

On the Alau Dam attack, Chukwu said that preliminary investigation revealed that the dam came under attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.</s>The Nigerian Air Force said on Tuesday that it has again bombed a training facility of the Boko Haram terrorists located in parts of Borno State.

It added that several members of the insurgent group were killed during the air interdiction.

A statement from the spokesperson of the Air Force, Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said the operations were carried out after its intelligence platform had established the presence of the terrorists in the area.

The statement reads: “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has recorded further gains in the ongoing air interdiction operations designed to wipe out remnants of Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) within the fringes of Lake Chad.

“This occurred as the ATF on Monday, 20 August 2018, conducted air strikes on BHT camps at Zanari and Tunbun Rego in Borno State.

“The air strikes at Zanari were planned and executed based on intelligence reports indicating that the BHTs had established a training camp in the village and were converging in an area prior to departing for an attack on own troops locations around the Lake Chad area.

“Accordingly, the ATF scrambled 2 NAF Alpha Jet aircraft for a pre-emptive strike on 2 specified locations within Zanari, where the BHTs were assembled.

“The fighter aircraft acquired and attacked both locations, neutralizing several BHTs, with only few survivors seen fleeing the area. These were later mopped up by follow-on rocket strikes.

“Similarly, another identified BHT rendezvous point and staging area on the outskirts of Tunbun Rego was also attacked and destroyed by the Alpha Jets.

“The NAF will continue to deploy its platforms to conduct intensive Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions in the entire Northeast aimed at discovering the possible locations of remnants of BHTs and neutralizing them. “
Suspected Boko Haram militants raid and burn the village of Mailari in Borno State, Nigeria, killing six people.