By Rafiu Ajakaye – Anadolu Agency
LAGOS
At least 60 people, including soldiers, are feared dead after suspected Boko Haram militants staged separate attacks against different villages of Borno, Northeast Nigeria, sources said on Monday evening.
The deadliest of the attacks, according to the sources, occurred on Sunday night in a mosque in Konduga, a village 34 kilometers southeast of Maiduguri, capital of Borno, where Boko Haram militants clad in military camouflage reportedly crept upon worshipers, shot dead at least 44 and injured 26 others.
A hospital security guard at the Accident and Emergency ward of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, who asked not to be named, told reporters 26 persons were brought to the hospital on Sunday night.
"Some are admitted here in the A and E ward and others have been taken to the Amenity Ward; we are under instructions not to allow visitors into the ward, please."
A medical officer at the hospital, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, confirmed that corpses were brought in but did not give details.
Ali Dalori, who represents Konduga in the State Assembly, also confirmed the attack to journalists, but did not offer further details of the casualties.
The attack reportedly coincided with a similar assault on Ngom village, 5 kilometers east of Maiduguri, where about 12 villagers were killed.
An operative of the vigilante in Maiduguri tagged Civilian-Joint Task Force (JTF), Usman Musa, told reporters that a troop of soldiers and youth vigilante had been deployed to Konduga on Sunday but were repelled by the heavily armed Boko Haram militants.
"We lost four of our members in the Civilian-JTF when they arrived [in] Konduga yesterday, I don’t know about the soldiers; but it was a very bad incident yesterday. Some of our members made it back on foot through bush paths this morning."
The Military Joint Task Force (JTF) is yet to speak on the latest Borno killings.
The deadly attacks again bring to the fore questions about the efficacy of the emergency rule clamp on the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa -- all in the country’s Northeast, the hotbed of the militant group.
In a video released on Monday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility for the killings in Konduga and earlier ones in Gamboru and others that led to the death of at least 14 soldiers.
He said the militant group was responsible for attacks across different Borno and Yobe communities.
About 100 people, including about 14 soldiers, were killed in the recent spate of attacks.
Shekau, who spoke in Hausa language amidst repeated triumphant laughter, said the Nigerian military lied about its victories over his group.
"The military is lying to the world about the battle we had with them; they lied that they have killed our members, but we are the ones who have killed the soldiers," he said.
The military says it has killed and arrested hundreds of members of the group and has dislodged a large number of its cells.
"We have killed countless soldiers and we are going to kill more. Our strength and firepower has surpassed that of Nigeria. Nigeria is no longer a big deal as far as we are concerned. We can now comfortably confront the United States of America," claimed the top militant.
The military has neither spoken on the latest massacre nor confirmed the authenticity of the video.
Boko Haram has been outlawed and was declared in June a terrorist organization by the Nigerian government.
The US has also declared Shekau and other Boko Haram leaders as terrorists and placed a bounty on them.
