Air Force shells Boko Haram hideout

The 79 Composite Group of the Nigerian Air Force in Maiduguri said on Wednesday that it had destroyed suspected Boko Haram hideouts following a raid in some parts of the state.
Squadron Leader Chris Erondu, the spokesman for the group, said this in a statement in Maiduguri.
Erondu, in the statement, added that the raid was carried out after surveillance in the areas.
“Sequel to intelligence reports, the 79 Composite Group, in conjunction with 75 Strike Group, Yola, carried out air surveillance interdiction and raid on identified Boko Haram hideouts.
“The operation was conducted in Bulabulim,Yujiwa-Alagarno, all located around Damboa axis of Borno State.

“The results of these air operations have been remarkable as the insurgents have retreated to neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Chad and Niger Republic and have suffered heavy casualties.
“The groups have also maintained constant security watch on Maiduguri and neighbouring communities to prevent future attack’’, he said in the statement.
Meanwhile, the United States say it condemns in the strongest terms the brutal attack on the town of Konduga, Borno State, on February 11, explaining that it sympathizes with the families of scores of murdered civilians and students abducted from the Government Girls Senior Science Secondary School and Ashigar School of Business and Administrative Studies.
A statement from the United State Consulate General in Lagos said Washington is deeply concerned for the welfare of the young women currently being held against their will; calling on the Nigerian government to investigate this attack, ensure all abductees are safely returned to their families, and bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.
The United States said it remains committed to supporting the people of northern Nigeria in their struggle to stop the abhorrent actions of Boko Haram and associated terrorist groups.
Gunmen suspected to be members of the outlawed Boko Haram sect, Tuesday night, attacked Konduga, a village 35km from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
At least 39 persons were killed in the attack while several others were injured, residents and government officials said.
They said hundreds of houses were also burnt.
The attackers, who invaded the quiet agrarian town at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday, did not leave until four hours later, after they had burnt down hundreds of homes, schools, clinics and the central mosque using bombs and sophisticated arms.
A grocery seller in the village, Mustapha Umar, who spoke to journalists, said the insurgents that attacked them were over 400.
“They are very plenty, at least 400 of them because anywhere you turn to, you see them in tens moving and shooting”, he said. “We had to flee for our dear lives; even the few soldiers in town could not stand them because their guns were mounted on vehicles while some threw explosives that brought down the Central mosque, the maternity clinic, the district head’s palace and several other places.”
The petty trader said, “More than 50 people were injured and taken to the hospital, while we are now preparing to bury 39 of our people that died. We don’t know how much would be found in the bushes later”.
Source; The Sun