Officers of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Maiduguri on Sunday killed 20 suspected members of fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, in a shoot-out in the troubled capital of Borno state.
A JTF source who does not want his name mentioned, confirmed to Channels Television in Maiduguri, that security forces got an intelligence report that the sect members were having a meeting at a particular location in the metropolis.
He disclosed that as the JTF officers approached the venue, the sect members opened fire; killing one soldier while two others sustained injuries.
But according to the source, the military officers fought back and the gun duel led to the killing of all the sect members in the meeting. .
The source also revealed that a 2001 Toyota Camry car, allegedly stolen for a planned bombing mission by a suicide bomber, was recovered in Maiduguri metropolis.
The Camry, according to him, was abandoned by the suspects and in the vehicle, were explosive devices which revealed the driver was on a suicide bombing mission.
On sighting the security forces on his trail, the suspected bomber abandoned the car and ran away.
Channels Television correspondent in Maiduguri, Jonathan Gopep, reports that some roads were blocked within the metropolis on Sunday as severe searches were being carried out by the JTF on all vehicles.
Earlier in the day, a similar gun battle, occurred between security forces and suspected Boko Haram members at the Bundigari-Powari ward of Damaturu, the Yobe state capital.
