The Algerian army has discovered a hideout containing 11 surface-to-air missiles near the country’s border with Mali, the defence ministry announced yesterday according to middleeastmonitor.com.

“After a search operation in the country’s border town of Bordj Badji Mokhtar, a division at the Algerian People’s National Armed Forces found an ammunition cache containing 11 anti-tank missiles,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Algerian ministry did not provide further details about the arms smugglers.

The operation comes a day after an announcement by the military about a discovery of ” an ammunition cache containing 20 mortar rounds and 120 kilograms of ammonium nitrate that is used in explosive manufacturing” in the same area.

Ten days ago, the ministry said it had found a cache containing 41 anti-tank missiles and another one carrying various weapons in the same border town.

The Algerian army was recently reported to have foiled several attempts of infiltrating weapons on the country’s southern borders.

In recent years, the Algerian government has mobilised its military troops on the country’s southern borders with Mali, Niger, and the eastern borders with Tunisia and Libya to prevent what it described “the infiltration of terrorist groups and smuggling of arms.”

Soldiers have fought off attempts by Boko Haram fighters to overrun two army bases in northeast Nigeria, security sources told AFP on Friday, December 7, in the latest attacks to hit the region, like reported by thedefensepost.com.

Militants attacked a forward operation base in the town of Bama, some 70 km (45 miles) southeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, at about 3:45 a.m. (0245 GMT) Friday.

“The terrorists were in many vehicles … and engaged soldiers in a battle which lasted until 7:05 am,” said one military source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The terrorists were repelled and the base was secured. No casualty has so far been recorded.”

A second military source confirmed the account and said reinforcements were sent from a battalion stationed in Bama itself.

The attack came after Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in the town of Rann, in northern Borno near the border with Cameroon, at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“The terrorists came in four gun trucks and several motorcycles and attacked the base of 3 Battalion in Rann,” the first source said in an account supported by local civilian militia.

“It was a heavy fight that lasted for an hour before the terrorists were pushed out with aerial support.”

The officer said the Islamist militants set fire to some homes as well as a UNICEF clinic in the town as they withdrew. There were no military casualties, he added.

Bama and Rann have been repeatedly attacked in the nine-year conflict, which has killed more than 27,000 people, left nearly two million people homeless and devastated northeast Nigeria.

On Tuesday, fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province faction of Boko Haram launched an assault on a military base in Gudumbali town in Borno state, sparking a fierce firefight in which two soldiers were injured, a military officer said.

On Monday, ISWAP fighters attacked a military base in Mallam Fatori, a Borno state town near the borders with Niger and Chad.

The Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram has been blamed or claimed responsibility for more than 20 attacks on military bases since mid-July, killing scores of troops.

Boko Haram split into two factions in mid-2016 over ideological differences. One is led by Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi and largely focuses on attacking military and government targets, while the other, led by Abubakar Shekau, is notorious for suicide bombings and indiscriminate killings of civilians.

ISIS central gave its formal backing to the Barnawi faction, which is known as Islamic State West Africa Province. It has lately intensified its armed campaign, launching a number of major assaults on military targets in Borno and neighbouring Yobe state amid signs of a takeover by more hardline leaders.

Since July, AFP has reported at least 22 attacks on military bases and positions in Borno and Yobe. ISIS has claimed that ISWAP is responsible for most of them.

The attacks have raised questions over the government’s claim to have virtually defeated Boko Haram and prompted the army to reorganise senior commanders.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence and on Thursday, six Boko Haram gunmen attacked a group of 20 women collecting wood outside the town of Ngala, some 35 km northwest of Rann.

“The only [ethnic] Shuwa [Arab] among the women was shot dead while the remaining 19, who were mostly Kanuri, were flogged by the terrorists,” said militia leader Umar Kachalla in Ngala.

“The terrorists also shaved the heads of the 19 women with knives before letting them go.”

The women were living in a camp for displaced people and left the camp early on Thursday morning without authorization after the surrounding area was deemed to be safe, said Kachalla.

Attacks on Shuwa have increased since the involvement of Chadian troops in the regional counter-insurgency, as the Chadian military has Shuwa troops in its ranks.

Borno and Yobe states, along with nearby Adamawa state, have born the brunt of nine years of jihadist violence that has claimed 27,000 lives and forced 1.8 million people to flee their homes.

The military has even threatened legal action against organizations for publishing unofficial casualty figures.

President Muhammadu  Buhari is under pressure to show his administration is winning the fight against Boko Haram ahead of a presidential election in February at which he will seek a second term in office.

A bloody rivalry has emerged between extremist groups in Somalia as the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab hunts upstart fighters allied to the Islamic State group, who have begun demanding protection payments from major businesses, officials tell The Associated Press.

The rivalry supports some observers’ suspicions that al-Shabab, now scrambling to defend its monopoly on the mafia-style extortion racket that funds its high-profile attacks, is drifting from its long-declared goal of establishing a strict Islamic state.

The manhunt began in October with the killing of a top leader of the IS-linked group by a suspected al-Shabab death squad in the capital, Mogadishu, according to several Somali intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

When the body of Mahad Maalin, deputy leader of the IS-affiliated group, was found near a beach in Mogadishu, it set off a hunt for suspected IS sympathizers within al-Shabab’s ranks, officials said. Maalin had been suspected of trying to extend his group’s reach into the capital.

Last month, the Islamic State group’s Al Naba newsletter noted deadly attacks on its fighters in Somalia and warned that “when the time of response comes from the Islamic State, with God’s will, we will be excused.”

The IS-affiliated group in Somalia, largely made up of al-Shabab defectors, first announced its presence in 2016 with attacks in the far north, far from Mogadishu and most al-Shabab strongholds. Though estimated at a few hundred fighters at most, their emergence in one of the world’s most unstable countries has been alarming enough that the U.S. military began targeting it with airstrikes a year ago.

While al-Shabab and its thousands of fighters have hunted down suspected IS sympathizers before, they had not taken the young group’s expansion seriously until now, observers say.

“Al-Shabab miscalculated IS’s organizational capability and ambitions to extend its reach beyond the north, having judged it by its handful of fighters there, and thus missed the bigger picture,” said Mohamed Sheikh Abdi, a Mogadishu-based political analyst.

The revelation by businessmen that IS-linked operatives had begun making extortion demands took al-Shabab’s leadership by surprise, prompting the manhunt that has led to assassinations and the detention of over 50 suspected IS-linked extremists, including foreign fighters, two Somali intelligence officials told AP. One suspected IS-linked fighter from Egypt was shot dead on Nov. 18 in Jilib.

As members of the Islamic State group flee shrinking strongholds in Iraq and Syria, fears have grown that the fighters will find a new and welcome home in parts of Africa.

Alarmed by al-Shabab’s deadly attacks, the IS-linked group has expanded its own assassination campaign. IS’s Amaq news agency, turning its attention to the young affiliate, has released videos showing what it called killings by the group’s death squad.

IS-linked fighters already had claimed responsibility for 50 assassinations in southern Somalia between October 2017 and August, often against federal government officials, according to a report released last month by the United Nations panel of experts monitoring sanctions on the country.

While extortion is the fighters’ latest tactic it is nothing new in Somalia, where al-Shabab has long used death threats and other intimidation to pressure businesses to pay what is called “zakah,” or charity. The money is their main source of funding. “Indeed, al-Shabab is likely generating a significant budgetary surplus,” the U.N. panel of experts said, noting that one of its checkpoints brought in about $10 million a year.

With no strong government to protect them, businessmen often say they have no choice but to pay in exchange for protection.

Among the companies targeted by suspected IS-linked extremists is Somalia’s telecom giant, Hormuud, which intelligence officials say has lost up to 10 employees in attacks in recent weeks. Hormuud officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Businesses worry that the rise of another extremist group seeking cash, as well as a new effort by Somalia’s central government to impose taxes, will bleed them dry.

“At this point, (businesses) are faced with two equally undesirable alternatives,” said Abdisamad Barre, a professor of business management in Mogadishu. “Rejection to the demands for extortion will pave way for attacks by IS, and paying them to evade danger will anger al-Shabab.”

Somali intelligence officials say al-Shabab’s new manhunt is aimed at preventing the IS-linked extremists from expanding their extortion demands into southern Somalia, where al-Shabab levies millions of dollars in taxes per year on travelers and cargo meant for the lucrative port of Kismayo.

Another al-Shabab tactic against its young rival is pressuring religious leaders to issue a fatwa, or edict, declaring the IS group “un-Islamic,” thus legitimizing a war against them, according to sources close to al-Shabab who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Security experts, however, say al-Shabab will find it difficult to unearth IS supporters even within its own ranks.

“That will be a major challenge,” one official said, noting that IS-linked loyalists could be waiting quietly even in al-Shabab’s leadership to make a move. “But that will probably take a long time given al-Shabab’s vigilance.”

The U.S military said it killed four militants in an air strike against al Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Awdheegle, Somalia, as part of its operations to support the government’s efforts to weaken the group, like reported by reuters.com.

The military’s Africa Command (Africom) said the strike was carried out on Dec. 4.

“The U.S. airstrike was conducted against militants after U.S. and partner forces came under attack,” Africom said in a statement late on Wednesday.

“We currently assess this airstrike killed four (4) militants with no civilians involved.”

The United States carries out periodic air strikes in Somalia in support of a U.N.-backed government there, which has been fighting against an al Shabaab insurgency for years.

Boko Haram jihadists have attacked two military bases in Nigeria’s restive northeast, killing one soldier and injuring two, security sources told AFP on Wednesday, in a week that saw insurgent assaults on troops intensify, like reported by news24.com.

Riding in trucks fitted with anti-aircraft guns, fighters from the self-styled Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram launched a raid late Tuesday on troops in the town of Gudumbali, sparking a fierce firefight in which two soldiers were injured, a military officer said.

“It was a tough battle,” said the military officer who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“Troops fought hard and repelled the terrorists, two soldiers were injured in the fight,” he said, adding the base was on “high alert” for a follow-up attack.

More than 10 soldiers were allegedly killed after the Islamic State West African Province faction of the Boko Haram insurgents attacked army bases in Kangarwa, Malumfatori and Arge areas of Borno State and Buni Gari, Yobe State, between Saturday and Monday, according to punchng.com.

The attacks started with Buni Gari on Saturday and spread to Malumfatori on Monday.

On Tuesday, our correspondent learnt that  ISWAP fighters were also sighted in Mattari village in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State, with fears of impending attacks on military locations in Jakana and Benishek.

In Malumfatori on Monday, our correspondent learnt that there was a fierce gun battle between government forces and the terrorists, who attempted to overrun the military base in the town.

Eight soldiers were allegedly killed when the terrorists attacked Buni Gari after which the terrorists reportedly stole a gun truck and destroyed an armoured vehicle.

The Nigerian Army confirmed that eight of its troops were killed in Buni Gari, noting that over 10 Boko Haram fighters were also killed by troops.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Sani Usman, said, “It is not true that Boko Haram is holding any area. Indeed, eight of our gallant troops paid the supreme price, while over  10  Boko Haram terrorists were killed by the troops during the encounter at Buni Gari.”

A military source confirmed Tuesday’s attacks by Boko Haram, saying the insurgents were believed to be having the upper hand in Kangarwa and Arge.

He said, “ISWAP has claimed responsibility for the attacks on Buni Gari and Arge. They seem to have taken over some communities in the two areas. Also in Mattari village in the Konduga LGA, Boko Haram fighters were seen gathering on Tuesday.

“The location is a few miles to Jakana or Benishek. There are military facilities in both areas.”

Meanwhile,   the number of casualties of the Malumfatori gun battle between the insurgents and troops could not be confirmed by our correspondent as of press time. However, unconfirmed reports said both sides recorded deaths and injuries.

The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali,  on Monday, directed that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai,  to remain in the North-East until the security situation in the region improves.

Dan-Ali also said  President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the “emergency procurement of critical equipment” for the armed forces to be more efficient.

“The CDS and the army chief were also mandated to effect changes in the operational commands of Operations Delta Safe, Lafiya Dole, Sharan Daji and Awatse. This is to enable them to meet up with the current threats and security challenges in their areas of responsibility,” the minister’s Public Relations Officer Col Tukur Gusau said.

The Federal Nigerian government has deployed drones in the fight against insurgency in the Northeast, like reported by dronebelow.com. The deployment of the drones followed an attack on the Nigerian forces in Borno by the insurgent group Boko Haram.

The Nigerian delegation made the revelation in its Country report presented to the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Friday. The report presented by Mr Sani Rano, also contained losses to the country from incessant farmers/herders clashes. The deployment of the drones followed an attack on the Nigerian forces in Borno by the insurgent group-Boko Haram. This attack led to the killing of 44 soldiers, the report stated. The delegation, in their report, informed the parliament that the insurgent group killed soldiers in three military bases in Borno state: Metele, Gajiram and Mainok.

In related news Legit.ng reported that Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman had said that the Nigerian Army discovered that Boko Haram terrorists have started using drones and foreign fighters while combating the Army. Kukasheka said the Nigerian troops deployed in the northeast of Nigeria under Operation Lafiya Dole have come under series of attacks by large numbers of Boko Haram.

The report further added that in response to the attack the country had deployed the drones to constantly survey the area, and had also set up a multi-national joint task force to curb the menace. “It is worth mentioning that Nigeria has constituted the Multi-National Joint Taskforce (MNTF) made up of Chad, Benin, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria, in fighting Boko Haram. It is a multinational formation comprising of equipped units, mostly the military aimed at containing the ravages of terrorism and armed insurgency.” The report stated.

“Presently, drones are patrolling Nigeria’s borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroon as instruments for intelligence collection. The Nigerian government is working closely with the Cameroonian government with the aim of negotiating efforts in enabling more Cameroon Boko Haram members to surrender,” the report said.

The report also made a mention of the fact that before the recent attacks on military bases, the Nigerian troops had made good progress in tackling insurgency and reopening towns previously seized by Boko Haram. It said that Nigeria had partnered with other countries including the U.S. and UK, France, Germany, ECOWAS, AU and the UN which had led to the purchase of weapons including 12 Super Tucano Aircraft. On the herders/farmers clashes, Rano stated that it was estimated that 1,300 persons were killed in Nigeria. He said that apart from the loss of lives, Nigeria as a country was also losing billions of Naira on the importation of food which would have been produced locally if there were no crisis.

The Nigerian Army, as well as the Police, were said to have deployed intelligence and surveillance to avert any re-occurrence especially with the coming of the dry seasons when the herders would need to search for fresh pasture.

Eight soldiers and two suicide bombers were killed in separate attacks in Borno and Yobe states, THISDAY has learnt.

This is coming as the Inspector General of Police (IG) has deployed additional 2,000 Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Counter Terrorism Units (CTU) personnel of the Force and the Sniffer Dog Sections to the North East in the last few days  to fight Boko Haram insurgency under the Operation Lafiya Dole. 

The Nigerian Army has however, confirmed that it has not accessed the  $1 billion approved to fight insurgency and other security challenges in the country.

Military sources within the theatre of war said eight military personnel were killed when the insurgents attacked a military base in Burni Gari town in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.

THISDAY gathered that an Armoured Personnel Carrier and a gun truck were lost to the insurgents.

The terrorists were, however beaten back when the Nigerian Air Force jet fighters pounded their locations.

Meanwhile, two unidentified suicide bombers suspected to be agents of Boko Haram died near Mina garage in Maiduguri, Borno state.

Nigerian Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, disclosed this yesterday in a statement issued  in Abuja.

According to him, the suicide bombers, a male and a female, on a mission to infiltrate the garage hurriedly, detonated one of their suicide vests upon sighting troops of 195 Battalion on patrol.

Usman further said the incident, which occurred at about 8 p.m. on Saturday, left no fewer than five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, injured.

 “Subsequently, the area was cordoned off and the Explosive Ordinance Device Team were drafted to defuse the other unexploded vest, while Borno State Emergency Management Agency and the Red-cross evacuated the mutilated body parts of the suicide bombers.

“The wounded persons were rushed to 7 Division Hospital for medical attention.”

In another development, the Inspector General of Police (IG) has deployed additional 2,000 Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Counter Terrorism Units (CTU) Personnel of the Force and the Sniffer Dog Sections to the North East in the last few days  to fight Boko Haram insurgency under the Operation Lafiya Dole. 

A statement from the Force Public Relations Officer, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Jimoh Moshood, which noted that the move was to support the strength of the military to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, said the new deployment was consistent with Section 4 of the Police Act and Regulations which allows them to perform such military duties both within and outside Nigeria as may be required of them by or under the authority of the Act or any other.

The statement disclosed that before now, the Nigeria Police Force has on ground 47 PMF Units ( 2, 961) in Borno State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in the state. “Twenty six units (1,638) on ground in Yobe State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in the state

“Eighteen  units (1,134) on ground in Adamawa State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in the state,”  part of the statement read.

The statement added that the Counter Terrorism Units of the Force have deployments of over 1,250 specially trained Counter Terrorism Police personnel, the Police Anti-Bomb Squad 300 personnel while over 100 Sniffer Dogs are working with the military in the fight against Insurgency in the North East.

 Moshood said, “It is of significant to note that the Police Mobile Force (PMF) personnel, Counter Terrorism Units (CTU), Anti-Bomb Squad (EOD), Sniffer Dog Sections, the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and conventional Police personnel have been fighting along with the military in the front line against Boko Haram insurgency and also providing security for restoration of law and order in the North East, security for all the liberated towns and villages in the North-East, escort of foreign and local humanitarian workers and relief materials, protection of IDP camps and security of public and private infrastructures.

“The Police Air-wing Surveillance Helicopters and crews are also deployed to support most of the operations of Operation Lafiya Dole throughout the North East in the fight against insurgency in the North East”. 

 He reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to the fight against insurgency, adding that the Force will do all it takes in collaboration with the Military to bring a quick end to Boko Haram insurgency and crisis in the North East.

In a related development, the Nigerian Army has confirmed that it has not accessed the $1 billion approved to fight insurgency and other security challenges in the country.

In 2017, the National Economic Council (NEC) approved the request of the current administration to withdraw $1 billion from the excess crude account (ECA) for the fight against insurgency.

Fielding questions on Weekend File, a news programme on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), spokesman of the army, Brig-General Sani Usman, said the money is still being processed.

“People should understand also that this is a democratic system in which procurement and of course funding of defence related issues takes such a long time,” he said.

“Take for instance the issue of the $1 billion approved recently by the president – up till now, the process is ongoing. The ministry of defence is still pursuing the matter to the point that when it is done, the armed forces will definitely get more equipment, more arms and ammunition.”

He added that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai, and the hierarchy of the army have been going round to meet with the troops in different locations.

In an interview with journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, at the weekend, Buratai also confirmed that the army has yet to access its share of the fund.

“You know the process of funding is another major issue. The bureaucracy and so on is another issue. Approvals are given but before you really get the money out is another challenge.

“So, the people are talking or the media have been talking of $1 billion that has been approved but I tell you up till today the fund that is supposed to come from that amount to the army in particular, is still in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” he added.

Extremist Islamist group Boko Haram has started to use drones as part of their new security measures a clear sign that the group have become increasingly sophisticated to garner intelligence on the movement of the country’s troops, Nigeria army said according to kmaupdates.com.

The army which issued a statement noted that it had noticed “daring moves” by the militants, including the “increased use of drones against our defensive positions” and the swelling of its ranks by foreign fighters.

Adding:”These potent threats require us to continually review our operations,”

This is the first time the military has confirmed reports which surfaced last year that Boko Haram has strengthened its capabilities by acquiring drones.

At least 29 people were wounded Wednesday in a suicide attack by a female bomber in Cameroon’s Far North, a region frequently hit by Boko Haram, security sources said according to thedefensepost.com.

“A suicide bomber blew herself up this morning in Amchide,” a town on the border with Nigeria, a regional security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity and giving a toll of 29 wounded.

A second bomber was shot dead by troops deployed in the town before she could detonate her explosives, the source said.

The attack occurred on market day when the town was filling up with early-morning shoppers, a local civil defence group official said.

“There were many people hurt, I saw about 20,” he said. “After the attack, the market emptied.”

A once-bustling trade hub, in 2014 Amchide was thrust into the forefront of a major battle between Cameroonian troops and Boko Haram militants who held the nearby Nigerian town of Banki for several months.

The violence forced most residents to flee the town, although some have now begun to return.

After pushing back Boko Haram, the Cameroonian army dug long trenches around Amchide and even inside the town to foil new incursions by the jihadists, with Wednesday’s attack the first in many months.

Boko Haram has lately intensified its armed campaign amid signs of a takeover by more radical leaders.

Boko Haram split into two factions in mid-2016 over ideological differences, but a recent video posted by Abubakar Shekau hints at a possible reconciliation with the faction led by Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi and known as Islamic State West Africa Province.

Shekau’s faction is notorious for suicide bombings and indiscriminate killings of civilians, while the Barnawi faction largely focuses on attacking military and government targets.

Shekau has pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, but ISIS central gave its formal backing only to ISWAP. The upsurge in attacks has been seen as a sign of a hardline takeover in the ISWAP faction by more radical lieutenants.