Hamisu Kabir Matazu
A clash between Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) groups has claimed the lives of dozens of terrorists in the lake Chad region, Borno State.
Local and security sources confirmed the incident to Daily Trust on Monday.
According to one of the sources, the encounter took place in seven islands of Abadam and Kukawa Local Government Areas.
“It’s purely a fight for territorial expansion. You know each control a certain place; so crises always erupt when one side feels encroached by the other.
“This fight erupted simultaneously at Dogon Cukwu, Bukare, Tumbun Goni, Mari, Mangari, Tumbun Ayaba, Tumbun Rago, Maryawa, and Shuwaram.
“It was the ISWAP group that instigated the clash after they noticed the activities of Boko Haram group in their area.
“It’s not easy to tell the specific number of people killed during the encounter but I learnt that both sides recorded heavy casualties. Over a hundred,” he said.
He added, “Two days ago, the ISWAP group seized 24 canoes belonging to the fishermen that are under the protection of the Boko haram group.
“That might have instigated the clash but the ISWAP group were not so lucky this time around, they recorded a lot of casualties.”
A security source, who craved anonymity, said that one of the commanders in Doron Baga had reached out to the military expressing his readiness to surrender.
“He promised to release the canoes and surrender to the troops,” the security source revealed.
Similarly, the troops had ambushed and killed a group of terrorists that planned to attack mile 3 military location in Kukawa Local Government Area.
“They came in large numbers around 3:40am on Monday, the military kept a tap of their movement, encircled them and opened fire on them. Many of them were killed,” another security source added.
