Several suspected terrorists shot dead in northern Nigeria state

Several suspected terrorists were shot dead by security operatives late Thursday in a raid carried out in northeast Nigeria's Borno State, residents in various communities across the state said Friday. A Xinhua reporter in Maiduguri, capital of the northern Borno State, said although there are conflicting reports about the casualty figures, the raid was carried out in five suspected hideouts of the Islamic Boko Haram sect usually responsible for bloody attacks in northern and central parts of Nigeria. "For now, nobody can give a specific number of casualties killed in the raid, but there were series of gunshots in Maiduguri and several people have died," said Mohammed Bashir, a resident of Kalari community in Maiduguri. The raid was carried out by the military troops in about five locations in the metropolis, Bashir said, adding the military operation started with sporadic gunshots which lasted for several hours. "Many dead bodies littered the affected communities," according to Ruqayat Bello, another resident who confirmed that the fully- armed military officials busted a Boko Haram hideout in her area. Although the Joint Task Force operating in the state declined comments on the incident, a security source who confirmed the raid on condition of anonymity said the raid was carried out to avert a major attack by the Boko Haram sect. "There was an information that Boko Haram members were planning another major attack, hence the military operation," the source added. Spokesperson of the JTF in Maiduguri, Lt.-Col Sagir Musa, also declined comments on the attack but said the incident will be investigated. Maiduguri had been the base of the radical Boko Haram sect since it began to launch its attacks in the northern and central parts of Nigeria in 2009.