Several Boko Haram operatives were decimated as Nigerian Air Force fighter jets struck the terrorist group’s locations on the fringes of Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest in Borno State in a renewed operation tagged “Green Sweep” targeting terrorists in the North-east, like reported by thisdaylive.com.

The bombers strafed the terrorists around Lake Chad as well as areas around the Alagarno Forest near Sambisa in Borno State.

The air strikes, according to Air Force Spokesman, Ibikunle Daramola, were aimed at further degrading the remnants of the terrorists, curtailing their freedom of action and denying them bases from which they could launch attacks.

He said: “In the morning of day one of the operation, air strikes by NAF aircraft resulted in the destruction of a terrorist hideout and neutralisation of several terrorists at Sharama on the Lake Chad Green Fringes in Northern Borno.

“The attack was conducted following series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions that showed the presence of significant number of BHT fighters in buildings under trees spread across the settlement.

“Consequently, the air task force dispatched two NAF Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the camp, leading to destruction of some of the structures and equipment as well as the killing of several terrorists”.

52 people were killed and 106 others were wounded when two suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs) and an improvised explosive device (IED) emplaced in a tuk-tuk vehicle by Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen militants detonated near the Sahafi Hotel and the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on 9 November, Al-Jazeera, Voice of America and Washington Post reported.

Reports added that militants opened fire targeting civilians after they acquired access to the hotel’s roof.

Four militants were killed by security forces responding to the attack. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attacks.

A car-bomb explosion in northern Mali killed three civilians on Monday, and one group reportedly claimed that Canadian soldiers and other foreign forces were targeted, like reported by vancouversun.com.

The Canadian Armed Forces said in an email Monday that it was aware of an explosion in the city of Gao, adding that all Canadian personnel were safe at Camp Castor.

The Ministry of Security and Civil Protection of Mali says on its Facebook page that a trapped vehicle burst into flames in a courtyard in Gao.

The ministry says three people were killed, two were injured and neighbouring homes were damaged.

SITE, an American group that monitors jihadist websites, says an organization posing as al-Qaida’s branch in Mali has claimed “a suicide bomb blast on the headquarters of foreign forces, including British, Canadian and Germans, in Gao.”

A Canadian peacekeeping contingent took over from Germans and Belgians in Mali in early July, and its main task is to evacuate the wounded peacekeepers by helicopter.

The Canadian mission includes eight helicopters and 250 crew members and soldiers.

Mali has been torn apart by conflict since a rebellion in the north and a coup in the capital in 2012. The turmoil has been aggravated in recent years by poverty, drought and the influx of Islamic extremists.

Dozens of peacekeepers have died in attacks in Mali and dozens more have been wounded since the creation of the UN mission in 2013.

The Nigerian Army announced yesterday that its troops have killed two high profile Boko Haram commanders during joint operations by military formations stationed in Chibok and Damboa communities of Borno State, like reported by leadership.ng.

The Nigerian Army, which gave this hint on its official Facebook page, said Abu Rajal and Tuja Sa’inna Banki were killed during the joint clearance operations.

It said that troops of 25 Task Force Brigade, Chibok, and 28 Task Force Brigade, Damboa, embarked on joint clearance operations from Gumsuri to Gambori in Borno State during which they liberated villages and recovered items from the terrorists.

The director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, said the troops liberated Litawa Kashmiri, Dole, Mulimari, Munchies, Njaba, Bale and Gambori villages.

He noted that during the operations, the troops engaged the insurgents at Mude where the terrorists fled in disarray due to the superior firepower of the troops, leaving behind 17 bicycles, one small solar panel, two Tecno phones, sets of bicycle spokes, 12 torchlights, five Adorline body jelly, one UNICEF bag, some foodstuffs, used spinners, cloths, four mosquito nets, four-litre jerry can of petrol, 10 blankets and eight prayer mats.

“Reports just reaching Headquarters, Nigerian Army, has confirmed that two high profile BHT (Boko Haram Terrorists) commanders named Abu Rajal and Tuja Sa’inna Banki were killed during the clearance operations,” Chukwu stated.

According to him, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen TY Buratai has commended the gallant troops and urged them to carry out further incursions and clearance operations to ensure that the remnants of the BHT are completely wiped out.

Nigerian Army repelled Boko Haram attack in Katarko, Yobe State, according to thisdaylive.com.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it routed scores of armed bandits and fighters in the North-western part of the country since July.

The army said troops of Sector 2, Operation Lafiya Dole engaged some terrorist elements who attempted to attack their location at Kagarko about 41kilometres North of Buni Yadi in Yobe State at about 7pm yesterday.

“The attack was repelled and reinforcements have been sent to the general area,” it said in a tweet.

Speaking during an operational visit to Katsina and Zamfara States, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said the NAF was determined to flush out armed bandits and criminals from the Northwest of the country.

The visit, which was aimed at assessing the progress of Operation Diran Mikiya, also afforded the CAS the opportunity to ascertain the state of facilities at NAF Base, Gusau as well as interact with the troops.

While in Katsina, the CAS, who was accompanied by other senior officers from NAF Headquarters, also paid a courtesy visit to the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, at Government House, Katsina.

In Katsina, the Air Task Force (ATF) Commander Operation Diran Mikiya, Air Commodore Ayo Jolasinmi, while briefing the CAS on the status of the operation, reported that significant successes had been achieved since the operation began on July 31, 2018, noting that the ATF had flown about 740 hours in 540 surveillance and combat sorties, resulting in the decimation of scores of armed bandit kingpins and their fighters as well as the destruction of several camps and hideouts with thousands of rustled cattle recovered.

The CAS commended the ATF commander and his team for their efforts and urged them to re-strategize in order to further effectively tackle the evolving nature of the threat within the area, while working closely with surface forces and other security agencies.

During the earlier courtesy visit to the Executive Governor of Katsina State, the CAS expressed profound appreciation to the Government and good people of the State for the immense support the NAF had enjoyed since Operation Ditan Mikiya began.

Air Marshal Abubakar pledged the commitment of the service towards ensuring that the activities of the armed bandits are brought to a complete stop and normalcy restored to the affected areas.

He informed the governor that he was in Katsina to assess the progress of the operation with a view to re-strategizing for improved results.

In this regard, the air force chief intimated the governor that the NAF was establishing a Forward Operating Base (FOB), along with a helicopter landing pad and support facilities, at Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.

This, he said, would further strengthen NAF’s ability to deal with the armed bandits, while working in synergy with other security agencies.

Governor Masari responded by appreciating the CAS for the unwavering commitment shown by the NAF and the tremendous contributions made by the Service in dealing with the menace of armed banditry. He acknowledged the successes recorded since the commencement of Operation Diran Mikiya, noting that over 250 armed bandits reportedly fled across the border to Niger Republic as a result of NAF air strikes in the months of August and September.

He, however, stated that the recent resurgence of the activities of the armed bandits required the intensification of operations to effectively deal with the criminals. He said, on its part, the Katsina State Government would increase advocacy to limit the involvement of youths in the border areas while continuing to facilitate the provision of useful information to security agencies.

At Gusau, the CAS was received by the Commander 207 Quick Response Group (207 QRG), Squadron Leader Sunkanmi Akinbohun, as well as the Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Alhaji Sanusi Rikiji, other top government functionaries and heads of security agencies in the State. He was conducted round facilities within NAF Base Gusau, including fuel storage facilities and some buildings that had been repaired after their roofs were blown off by rainstorms earlier in the year. Air Marshal Abubakar subsequently received a briefing from the Commander 207 QRG and later addressed the troops encouraging them to remain focused on their assignment.

He also urged them to conduct themselves professionally and deal ruthlessly with the armed bandits while ensuring they respect and protect civilians in their places of deployment.

Nearly 2000 children in Mali have stopped going to school after suspected Islamists warned they would only allow religious education, according to teachers and local officials.

“Armed jihadists arrived in our village last week by motorcycle,” said a teacher in the village of Toubakoro, about 85 miles northeast of the capital Bamako.

“They told everyone to gather in a mosque. They told us to close all schools where French is taught and to teach only the Koran instead,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“They threatened to punish anyone who broke the new rule.”

Mali is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that began with an uprising by Tuareg separatists in the north of the country in 2012.

The extremists were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013. But large stretches of Mali remain out of the control of Malian, French and UN forces, which are frequent targets of attacks.

Concurring sources said the group behind the threats at Toubakaro claims affiliation to a radical preacher from the Fulani ethnic group named Amadou Koufa. The men made similar threats last week in the nearby villages of Dandougou, Balala and Ngounado, they said.

“More than 20 schools have been closed in five locations – almost 2000 children are not going to school at the moment,” said local official Aboubacar Ndiaye, who said he had fled to Bamako “as a precaution”.

In his latest quarterly report on Mali, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that 1108 schools had had to close “at least once” – defined as a closure of at least 20 days in one stretch – during the 2017-18 school year. Closures affected a total of 332,400 children.

Security Minister Salif Traore said a “wide-scale” military operation to tackle threats against schools had begun in the past few days and “suspects” had been arrested.

Mali is among 81 countries have signed the Safe Schools Declaration – a commitment to keep students, teachers and their schools free from the fear of violence and occupation during armed conflict.

Theirworld and others have been campaigning for schools to be safe places for children to learn and be with their peers. While the majority of the 15 current members of the Security Council have signed the Safe Schools Declaration, only two of the five permanent members have done so.

France and the United Kingdom have shown the way by endorsing the declaration and we are calling on China, Russia and the United States to follow their lead.

Two attacks on Nigerian soldiers attached to Multinational Joint Task Force between November 5 and 6 left at least one soldier killed and 16 others missing, military sources told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.

At least five soldiers were also wounded during the attack on a military camp in Kukawa village on November 5 and an improvised explosive device that went off on a moving military truck in Mallam Fatori on November 6. Both communities are in the northern fringes of Borno State, near the border with Niger Republic.

In the November 5 attack, the Boko Haram insurgents tried to overrun a military checkpoint manned by 101 Special Forces and 157 Battalion with five gun trucks around 5:40 p.m.

They managed to dislodge the troops and burned two armoured personnel carriers that were already in disrepair, and made away with one anti-aircraft gun and one light machine gun, military sources said.

The sources said the Boko Haram terrorists then proceeded to an abandoned secondary school nearby, where the MNJTF soldiers had been using as their base, and burned its administrative office and kitchen down.

The attack left one soldier wounded while 16 others were missing in action as of Wednesday night, sources said.

The insurgents fled after air support arrived. The Nigerian Air Force personnel pursued the terrorists with an attack helicopter, forcing them to withdraw into their enclaves.

Military sources said the Air Force is currently conducting an assessment of the damage, and would forward final findings on potential casualties to command headquarters afterwards.

The attack in Mallam Fatori involved troops of 119 Task Force Battalion who were moving back to their battalion headquarters in the border community when their vehicle hit a landmine planted by Boko Haram elements, military sources said while briefing PREMIUM TIMES on the aftermath of the incident.

One soldier was killed and four others were wounded in action in the attack, which occurred between Bosso, Niger Republic and Mallam Fatori, headquarters of Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State. It was not immediately clear whether the wounded have been taken to the hospital in Nigeria or Niger.

The Defence Headquarters announced last week it had taken new delivery of military equipment, boasting of a tough time ahead for insurgents.

The military has said it recorded tremendous gains in its counter-insurgency operations over the past three years, especially after managing to confine the insurgents to the fringes of Nigerian territories.

This was against the years before when the deadly Boko Haram terrorists held vast Nigerian lands across its North-east stronghold, occasionally spilling into North-west and North-central geopolitical zones.

Six soldiers were killed by Islamist Boko Haram insurgents at Azare village in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, DAILY POST reports.

According to a reliable source who pleaded anonymity, the attack on the troops followed the arrest of three Boko Haram terrorists who went to the village to charge their mobile phones by the troops of 27 Task Force Brigade stationed in the village.

“Three insurgents came to Azare village to charge their cell phones and the dwellers informed the soldiers stationed in the village and they were arrested.

”Later in the day, the terrorists mobilized and attacked the troops thereby killing six soldiers and carted their rifles”. The source revealed.

The source noted that, troops and members of vigilante group quickly mobilized and trailed the attackers and succeeded in locating the terrorists’ camp, hence neutralized the inhabitants of the camp and destroyed their hideouts.

The incident has now led to a temporary closure of Buni-Yadi- Magza-Biu road.

However, when contacted via mobile phone, the spokesman of the 27 Task Force Brigade, Buni Yadi, Major Alimi has denied the report, saying that there was no attack on the troops.

He said, “There was nothing like an attack on the troops, maybe somebody is misleading you. As I am talking to you right now, I am in Buni Yadi.

“Had it being there was something like that, I would have confirmed to you,” Major Alimi added.

Meanwhile, an officer with the brigade who pleaded anonymity has lamented the killing of many soldiers in the North East by Boko Haram. He said, ” We are fighting a battle that will never end, a dangerous battle. They always come heavy on us. We are trying, but we are losing more soldiers. I have lost a number of my colleagues and friends in a few days.”