Boko Haram jihadists kill seven people and abduct a teenage girl in Christmas Eve raid on Christian village in Nigeria
- Dozens of fighters driving truck and motorcycles stormed into Kwarangulum
- They shot fleeing residents and burned homes after looting food supplies
- Boko Haram and an ISIS-affiliated faction have stepped up attacks on civilians
Boko Haram jihadists killed seven people in a raid on a Christian village in Nigeria on Christmas Eve.
Dozens of fighters driving trucks and motorcycles stormed into Kwarangulum late on Tuesday, shooting fleeing residents and burning homes after looting food supplies.
‘They killed seven people and abducted a teenage girl in the attack,’ local vigilante David Bitrus said.
‘They took away food stuff and burnt many houses before leaving,’ he said, adding that a church was also burnt.
Soldiers stationed in Nigeria’s restive northeast have been fighting Boko Haram’s decade-long campaign of violence
The jihadists were believed to have attacked from Boko Haram’s nearby Sambisa forest enclave, said Chibok community leader Ayuba Alamson who confirmed the toll.
Boko Haram and its IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction have recently stepped up attacks on military and civilian targets.
Kwarangulum, which is 10 miles from Chibok, came under attack in April by Boko Haram terrorists who stole food and burned much of the village.
Residents had managed to flee before the arrival of the jihadists following tip-off from people who saw the gunmen heading toward the village.
Boko Haram terrorists became notorious after they kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in hte town of Chibok (the school is pictured in 2014)
Chibok is the scene of the mass kidnap of 276 schoolgirls in 2014 by Boko Haram which sparked global outrage and drew attention to the group’s notoriety.
Fifty-seven of the girls escaped shortly after the kidnap. Another 107 have been either rescued or released after negotiations while 112 remain in captivity.
Troops have been stationed in Chibok since the kidnap but deadly Boko Haram raids continue in the area.
The decade-long conflict has killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast, according to the United Nations.
The violence has spread to nearby Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the jihadist groups.