News / Nigeria

Boko Haram militants kill four, kidnap 4 women in Nigeria

Wednesday, 15 June 2016 6:08 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 June 2016 6:09 PM ]

Soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, March 25, 2016. (AFP photo)

The Boko Haram Takfiri militants have killed four people and kidnapped four women after storming a village in the troubled northeastern Nigeria, military sources say.

Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said Wednesday that the casualties were caused after Boko Haram militants on motorcycles on Tuesday morning stormed Kutuva village in Borno State.

"Boko Haram terrorists riding on six motorcycles attacked the village. They killed four residents and abducted four women," he said, adding, "Residents of neighboring Kaya village mobilized and pursued the terrorists. They traced them to Sabon Garin Baale but unfortunately they lost track of the gunmen."

Usman said Nigerian troops backed by civilians have launched a massive search operation to hunt down the attackers, adding, "They are doing their best to track them down and rescue the women."

The military spokesman also stated that the militants have become increasingly weaker and desperate due to the ongoing high-scale offensive against them.

“Boko Haram have been severely weakened. But they are trying to save face. That's why they're trying to launch attacks on soft targets," he said, noting, "They're now facing lots of challenges. Our troops are mounting pressure on them, which has cut off most of their supply routes."

A man scouts for valuables beside a taxi damaged following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast at Gomboru market in Maiduguri, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, July 31, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

The Takfiri terrorist group has kidnapped a large number of civilians including several women over the past years.

On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram terrorists kidnapped 276 girls from their secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok in Borno. Fifty-seven of the girls managed to escape afterwards, but the fate of the remaining others is still largely unknown.

An estimated 20,000 people have been killed and more than two million others made homeless since the beginning of the bloody Boko Haram militancy in Nigeria in 2009.

Last year, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

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