Big News Network.com Saturday 14th February, 2015
LAGOS, Nigeria - Nigerian troops have countered a Boko Haram attack on the north-east city of Gombe, officials said Saturday.
Soldiers and a fighter jet were used to launch a counter-attack after the Islamist fighters overran a checkpoint on the edge of the city.
The insurgents were retreating towards their stronghold in the neighbouring state of Borno, witnesses said, but such reports cannot be independently verified.
The Nigerian government postponed elections which were to be held on Saturday due to the insurgency in the north-east of the country, which has seen hundreds killed and dozens taken hostage by the militants.
Before they left, the Boko Haram fighters scattered leaflets urging people not to vote in the elections.
All roads in and out of Gombe have been blocked and a 24-hour curfew has been imposed, according to local residents.
Gombe is the capital of Gombe State and has previously suffered suicide attacks, but Boko Haram have never tried to launch a direct attack on the city.
It comes just days after the group tried to capture Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, of which they have seized large areas.
Reports say the militants first attacked the town of Dadin Kowa, about 40 kilometres from Gombe and used it as a staging area.
Ground troops with air support battled to keep the insurgents from entering the city through much of Saturday, as residents fled into the bush and nearby hills.
Boko Haram controls a swathe of territory in north-eastern Nigeria. Its insurgency has become a regional crisis affecting Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
The four nations recently agreed to form a regional military force to try to contain the threat. The insurgents have stepped up their attacks in Nigeria and neighbouring states in response.
On Friday, reports emerged that Boko Haram had attacked Chad for the first time, crossing Lake Chad in four motorboats and raiding a village overnight.
Four people including a local chief, a police officer and three civilians were killed. The Chadian military said two of the attackers were also killed. Some reports put the civilian death toll higher.
Boko Haram wants to create an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria and has killed thousands and forced millions to flee their homes in north-east Nigeria since 2009.
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