Many killed, injured as forces, Boko Haram exchange gunfire in Abuja

ABUJA (AFP) – Boko Haram Islamists
opened fire Friday on security operatives
conducting an operation near a legislative
building in Abuja, sparking a gunfight that
injured several people, the intelligence
branch said.
RESCUE OPERATORS EVACUATING
REMAINS OF PEOPLE KILLED IN AN
UNCOMPLETED BUILDING BY UNKNOWN
GUNMEN AT APO ZONE E IN ABUJA ON
FRIDAY (20/9/13).
Following a tipoff from arrested Boko
Haram fighters, security forces headed to
a purported weapons cache behind the
building in Abuja’s Apo neighbourhood,
said Marilyn Ogar, spokeswoman for the
Department of State Services.
Shortly after midnight they started
“digging for the arms”, Ogar said in a
statement.
They then “came under heavy gunfire
attack by… Boko Haram elements within
the area, which prompted immediate
response from the security team,” she
said.
“Some persons were injured and 12
others were arrested in connection with
the incident,” Ogar added.
Boko Haram, which claims it wants to set
up an Islamic state in northern Nigeria,
has previously attacked Abuja in the
centre of the country, including bombings
at a United Nations building, newspaper
offices and a shopping mall.
The capital was placed under tight
security after the August 2011 UN
bombing, with military checkpoints in
place around most government buildings.
Attacks in Abuja had however declined
dramatically in recent months.

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