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24 mine-resistant vehicles
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The
United States on Thursday donated 24 mine-resistant, ambush-protected
vehicles to Nigeria’s military, to enable the country’s soldiers to
combat Boko Haram Islamic insurgents who continued cutting a bloody path
through northeast Nigeria.
About 30 people were killed between
Monday and Wednesday in Borno state, as Boko Haram gunmen wearing
soldiers’ uniforms and female suicide bombers unleashed separate attacks
on Izghe, a village 123 kilometers (76 miles) southwest of Maiduguri,
the state capital, witnesses said.
Buba Ummate, a survivor, said:
“They came in military uniforms and … just started firing there. At
least 18 people were killed in that Monday attack, he said.
Ummate
said the following day, three female suicide bombers sneaked into Izghe
and detonated bombs hidden under their garments, killing seven other
people and destroying three houses. A male suicide bomber also blew
himself up, killing himself and four other people, said Yusuf DanIzge,
who learned of the attack from relatives who live in the community.
A
statement from the US Consulate in Lagos said the MRAP vehicles, valued
at $11 million, were being handed over on Thursday to assist the West
African country with both technical and military hardware to enable it
to combat the rising challenges of regional extremism.
Temitayo
Famutimi of the US Department of State said: “The equipment donation
represents part of the continuing US commitment to Nigeria and its
neighbors to counter Boko Haram’s senseless acts of terror and promote
regional security.”
The United States also provides advisers,
intelligence, training and logistical support to Nigerian military
fighting Boko Haram as well as humanitarian aid and victim support
services to some of the 2.5 million people driven from their homes by
the insurgency.
Source:PM News
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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