350 Killed In Fresh Boko Haram, Army War In Maiduguri

At least 350 people were killed Friday, as the upsurge in violence in the North East caused by the renewed engagement between  Boko Haram insurgents and the Special Forces, this time in Maimalari district of Maiduguri, the Borno capital, reached the 7-day mark. The insurgents had attacked the 21 Armoured Brigade of the Nigerian Army early Friday morning, just three days after suffering what many consider a huge loss when Special Forces attacked one of their biggest bases near Lake Chad.
According to the Punch:
The dead included insurgents who attacked the military formation and their members who were held at the biggest detention facility on the premises of the headquarters of the Brigade.

It was gathered that the insurgents targeted the detention facility within the 21 Armoury Brigade where most of the hardened members of the sect were detained.
The military authorities were said to have received an intelligence report of an impending attack on the barracks and prepared for the insurgents.
It was learnt that the insurgents attempted to divert the attention of the military by carrying out the attack in military uniforms and vehicles painted in military colours.
The huge casualty figure was revealed amid fresh facts on why the insurgents were able to advance near the detention camp with ease. It was learnt that the insurgents' advancement could not be immediately halted because  the Shilka tank, a multipurpose self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery weapon positioned to secure the barracks, failed to fire.
An authoritative security source who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the Special Forces, told Saturday PUNCH  that the Shilka tank refused to respond to signal.  This situation, he said, prompted the Special Forces to fight hard to prevent what would have been a tragic outing.
It was learnt that the tank had earlier been well -positioned to secure the portion  of the barracks where the insurgents had penetrated. The source said if the gun had responded to touch, the soldiers would have found it easier to repel the attack of the insurgents without any damage.
It was learnt that the soldiers abandoned the disappointing artillery tank and relied on other weapons to ward off the insurgents' attack.
The source said that the military was already looking into the reason behind the disappointment of the crucial weapon.
It was learnt that security operatives who were investigating the Shilka tank failure were considering two possibilities-the age of the old artillery weapon and the possibility of sabotage .
Gist Arena