Boko Haram militants have gun down 20 vigilante members in what is believed to be Boko Haram trying to fight back against the group in the northeast.

Vigilante groups are local residents who serve as a neighborhood watchdog by helping the joint security forces to drive out Boko Haram from the area. And Boko Haram is trying to take revenge against the group because of its contribution to the security forces.

An anonymous military official told local reporters that the killings occurred in two separate attacks on Sunday and Monday.

He said on Sunday, Boko Haram fighters disguised themselves in military uniforms and stormed a meeting places of one the vigilante group in Bama, opening fire and killing 14 members of the group instantly.

The second attack took he said, took place on Monday night in the village of Damasak, which is some 200km away from the State capital Maiduguri.

Boko Haram fighters attacked the Civilian Joint Task Force, as they were sleeping in a guesthouse and opened fire killing 6 and injuring dozen others.

“The attack took place in the border town of Damasak, 200 kilometers away from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and birthplace of the Boko Haram ideology, the report we got from Damasak confirmed that the six members of the vigilante group were also jewelry vendors who took time off to attend the weekly Damasak Market to sell their wares, Boko Haram members then trailed them to where they were sleeping’’, the military official was quoted as saying.

These attacks by Boko Haram comes as the group is believed to be loosing grounds against the security forces with the military saying that its internal intelligence suggests that Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau might have been killed in a shoot-out with the security forces between 25 July and 3 August this year. There has been no comment from the group on the death of its leader.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in 3 northern states on May 14, and deployed thousands of troops to halt the insurgency, acknowledging that militants had taken control of some towns and villages in the north.

Boko Haram is believed to have carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations since 2009 which have cost an estimate number of 3,600 lives, and saying it wants to establish an Islamic state across Nigeria.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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