Nigerian troops shoot dead 3 sect members

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Three suspected members of the Islamic Boko Haram miltia sect were shot dead while trading fire with Nigerian troops operating in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, a seinor officer said Tuesday.

Col. Victor Ebhalem, the Field Operations officer of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno state, told Xinhua that the "Boko Haram terrorists" were killed in a shootout Monday night while trying to flee after robbing local residents.

Ebhaleme said the days of the sect "are numbered" as government forces were stepping up their crackdown on the Boko Haram militia.

"We strongly believe that their end is in sight. Some of them have now resorted to armed robbery and other forms of criminality, but we will surely fish them out," he added.

Posted in: Boko Haram, BokoHaram, Borno State, JTF, Maiduguri, Nigeria