Boko Haram bombs bridge, kills 8 in Yobe
Boko Haram men Monday night blew up a bridge in Katarko village in Yobe State, Nigeria, killing eight people, as soldiers stationed nearby fled for their lives.
A resident, Malam Garba, according to report by ABC news, said soldiers guarding the bridge fled as they were out numbered and out gunned by the militants.
The blown bridge, it was said to be the fifth blown up in the past three months.
Abbas Gava, a civilian security volunteer, said during the rainy season the road will now be impassable, further isolating areas which have been under constant attack for months.
Another resident, Lawan Ali said: “They stormed our village with some vehicles and many motorcycles, shooting and chanting Allahu Akbar (God is Great). Some of them could be mistaken for solders because of their dressing which is mostly like that of the soldiers’ khaki.
“The soldiers in Katarko had to flee after seeing the large number of the attackers.
“After attacking the village and killing about eight persons and injuring some others, we later heard a thunderous explosion at the location of the bridge; we all fled into the bush. But in the morning, we later found out that the bridge had been destroyed with bombs”.
On the blown bridge, Ali said, “in the next few weeks to come, Katarko would be cut off and that part of Yobe State would no longer be accessible because the river will fill its bank and motorists may no longer be able to wade through the river”.
Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in five years of insurgency, including hundreds of children. Yobe is in a region that has been under emergency rule for more than a year, but Human Rights Watch says the insurgency continues to grow more violent and more far-reaching.
