LAGOS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian forces repelled an attacks by Boko Haram militants in the northeast state of Borno, the military has said in a statement.
Aminu Iliyasu, an army spokesperson, said the troops have continued to decimate insurgents in encounters across the restive region.
He said troops in the Gamborou-Ngala area of Borno repelled a Boko Haram attack on the Ngala community on Jan. 18, when insurgents sneaked into the community in five gun trucks, motorcycles, using a farm as cover, with the "intent to unleash one of the most devastating terror attacks in recent times."
"Fortunately for the residents, the vigilant troops responded swiftly, engaging the criminals with overwhelming superior firepower, thereby forcing them to beat a hasty retreat in complete disarray," Iliyasu said.
"During the ensuing pursuit and exploitation embarked upon by the troops, one Boko Haram criminal suicide truck driver strapped with a suicide vest was neutralized," he said.
Items captured during the encounter included one AK-47 Rifle, one FN rifle, one motorcycle and one heavily laden vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), Iliyasu said.
Preliminary investigations showed that the VBIED and the suicide bomber were heading to a displaced people's camp in Gamborou-Ngala, he said.
Five humanitarian workers who took refuge in a bunker during the attack were successfully rescued, Iliyasu said.
Boko Haram has been trying since 2009 to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad basin.
The group has posed enormous security, humanitarian and governance challenges in the Lake Chad basin, including Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Benin, and Niger, according to the United Nations.
