Troops kill 2 female suicide bombers in Gwoza

Troops have foiled an attempt by three female suicide bombers to attack a military location at Gwoza in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno on Thursday.

The Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement that the suicide bombers came into Gwoza through Pulka axis at about 12.57 p. m.

“They were sighted by members of vigilante from a distance and alerted the troops about the impending catastrophe.

“The very observant vigilante also noted that the women looked suspicious; walking awkwardly with bulging hijab and distinct from other female farmers.

“When the suicide bombers noticed that they were being observed, they hurriedly ran toward troops aiming to detonate it on them,” Usman said.

He said that the troops neutralised two of the female suicide bombers, while the third one ran back into the bush but was pursued.

“Unfortunately, a soldier sustained injuries due to the impact of the explosion.

“The wounded soldier is currently receiving treatment at a military medical centre and he is in a stable condition,” the army spokesman said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that troops on Thursday morning intercepted a male suicide bomber on the outskirts of Maiduguri and neutralised the bomb he strapped onto himself.

In a related development, Usman said that troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna, had arrested two suspected kidnappers on Wednesday, while they were in the process of collecting ransom from a kidnap victim’s family.

He said that the arrest at Anchau, Kubau Local Government Area of the state, followed a tip-off that the kidnappers had arrived Dutsen Wai to collect the ransom from the victim’s family.

“On receipt of the information, the troops swung into action in an unmarked car and trailed them to the rendezvous for the collection.

“The kidnappers that were believed to be operating along Kaduna-Abuja road, however, fled toward Zaria in a Honda car with registration number AJ183ABJ when they realised that they were being trailed,” he said.

He said that the troops alerted the police stationed in Soba, but that the fleeing kidnappers overran them at their checkpoints at Soba and Maigana and proceeded to Zaria where they were apprehended.

Usman listed items recovered from the suspects as Honda Accord car, one cell phone, four MTN, one Airtel subscribers identified module (SIM) cards, one micro SD card and a national identity card.

Others, he said, were an INEC voter registration card, a Miyetti Allah cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria Identity Card, United Bank for Africa and Keystone Bank Debit Cards, and N12,710.

Usman also said that a notebook containing several names, addresses and telephone numbers of kidnap victims’ families and relations were recovered from them, adding that the suspects were currently being investigated.