Nigerian army kills 11 Boko Haram fighters

The Nigerian army shot and killed at least 11 fighters from the Islamist group Boko Haram in Maiduguri, the AFP reported.

"Today, in an exchange of fire during a cordon-and-search operation conducted by the JTF, 11 Boko Haram members were killed," Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed said, the AFP reported. Field operations officer Colonel Victor Ebhamelehe said one member of Boko Haram was wounded and hospitalized, Reuters reported.

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The men killed during the gunfight were “high profile” members of Boko Haram, Bloomberg reported. They were stopped during a routine stop-search-operation when the gunfight broke out in the city known as Boko Haram’s base. Maiduguri and other parts of Nigeria, were placed under a state of emergency on Dec. 31 due to Boko Haram attacks.

There were no casualties suffered by the Nigerian Joint Task force, which is a specialized group set up last year specifically to crack down on the Boko Haram, the AFP reported. The Islamist fundamentalist group has already been blamed for more than 200 deaths this year.

Suspected Boko Haram members attacked a police station in Mandwari on Friday, leading to a gunfight that last more than a hour and leaving one policeman fatally wounded, Reuters reported.

Read more at GlobalPost: Nigeria: Boko Haram attack in Kano

"We lost one of our men in the attack in Mandwari inside the city. He is a corporal and he died on the way to hospital. The gunmen were repelled," Kano police commissioner Ibrahim Idris said, Reuters reported.

On Thursday, an audio tape recorded by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was posted on the internet, threatening to kill more security personnel and kidnap their families. It also accused American President Barack Obama of waging war on Islam, Reuters reported.

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