Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 muslims praying at a mosque in the town of konduga, 35km from the Borno State Capital Maiduguri while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack, security agents have said. An eye witness said the terrorists entered the mosque and opened fire on praying muslims.

Sunday’s attacks were the latest in a show of violence blamed on religious extremists where the radical Boko Haram group, which wants to oust the government and impose Islamic law, which has been posing the greatest security threat in years.

It was not immediately clear why the Islamic Boko Haram would have killed worshipping Muslims, but the group has in the past attacked mosques whose clerics have spoken out against religious extremism. Boko Haram also has attacked Christians outside churches, teachers and schoolchildren, as well as government and military in church and targets.

Since 2010, the militants have been blamed for the killings of more than 1,700 people, according to a count by The Associated Press.

The news about  last Sunday’s violence in Borno state, one of three in the northeast under a military state of emergency, came as journalists received a video featuring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, who gloats over recent attacks, threatens more, and even says his group is now strong enough to go after the United States.

On their way back from Konduga, the security forces came upon the scene of another attack at Ngom village, 5 kilometres (3 miles) outside Maiduguri, where Musa said he counted 12 bodies of civilians.

Twenty-six worshippers at the mosque were admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds, said a security guard at the emergency ward of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

In the video received by journalists Monday, Shekau brushes off any gains asserted by the security forces.

“You soldiers have claimed that you are powerful, that we have been defeated, that we are mad people,” Shekau says, speaking in the local Hausa language. “But how can a mad man successfully coordinate recent attacks in Gamboru, in Malam Fatori, slaughter people in Biu, kill in Gwoza and in Bama, where soldiers fled under our heavy fire power?

“We have killed countless soldiers and we are going to kill more.”

He further insists the extremists’ “strength and firepower has surpassed that of Nigeria. … We can now comfortably confront the United States of America.”

Shekau also said Nigeria’s military is “lying to the world” about its casualties. “They lied that they have killed our members, but we are the ones that have killed the soldiers.”

… As Soldiers Kill Two Ring leaders 

Boko Haram ring leaders, Zakara Yau and Muhammadu Bama on whom the Federal Government placed a N10 million ramsom, have been killed in Adamawa State.

This represents a major breakthrough for the Joint Military Task Force (JFT) set up by the Federal Government.

Lt. Col. Baydi Markus Martins, Battalion commander, said the duo were on their way to Wukari in Taraba State for an operation, when the JFT killed them. According to him, they were monitored from their base in Borno State until they were intercepted in Mubi.

Col Martins however said that a number of soldiers sustained injuries during the encounter.

He told newsmen that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, has approved the immediate establishment of a base in Mubi to deal with the insurgency.  He said five suspects were also being interrogated to ascertain their level of involvement in the terrorist movement.

The commander further disclosed that the suspects were arrested last week when they attacked the Bureau de Change at Mubi International market, where they stole millions of naira and some foreign currencies, which were recovered and returned to the Bereau’s chairman Mallam Nuru.

Items recovered from the operation included 485 live ammunitions, 28 magazines, guns, bows, arrows, axes, cutlasses ad other dangerous weapons.

Col. Martins commended the people of Mubi for co-operating with and supporting the JTF.

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