Boko Haram fighters unleashed a series of attacks across northern Nigeria on Christmas Eve, killing at least 12 Christian worshipers and burning down two churches. Separately, Nigerian security forces killed 14 suspected Boko Haram members in northern Nigeria.
Security forces conducted a house-to-house search in Kano, where they found explosives in various locations and made some arrests. The military said the measures were taken to thwart a major terrorist attack planned to disrupt Christmas celebrations in the city.
The Nigerian Islamist group Ansaru claimed the kidnapping of a French engineer, saying it was retribution for France’s ban on the niqab and the French role in Mali. Ansaru is believed to be an offshoot of Boko Haram. The UK added the al Qaeda-linked Ansaru to its terrorist list last month.
Two suicide car bombers attacked the offices of two mobile phone firms in Kano; the bombers died, and a security guard was injured. Boko Haram is suspected in the attacks.
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France said al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was likely behind the kidnapping of a Frenchman in Katsina; the local police claimed it looked like an “inside job.” A court admitted into evidence over 200 pieces of improvised explosives in the case of six Boko Haram suspects arrested in July 2011.
A group of 30 gunmen stormed a residence in Katsina state near the Niger border, killed a security guard and a neighbor, and kidnapped a French engineer. The group threw a grenade at a police station following the kidnapping.
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Security forces killed three Boko Haram fighters after the terror group launched an attack on a police headquarters in Potiskum. One policeman was killed in the attack.
The Joint Task Force killed four Boko Haram “sub-commanders,” including two IED experts, during a series of raids in Maiduguri. Officials said the commanders were identified after Abduulkareem Ibrahim was killed last week.
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Suspected Boko Haram militants used machetes and guns to kill 10 Christians after setting fire to their homes in Chibok in Borno state. Militants also burned down three churches in Gamboru in Borno.
Abubakar Shekau said he and his fighters support jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Algeria, Libya, and Mali.
Gunmen dressed as soldiers stormed into a pub in the predominantly Christian Barkin Ladi region of Plateau state, killing 10 civilians. The army denied any connection to the attack.
A “large number of gunmen” attacked the Abuja SARS police base, freeing 30 detainees. All but five were recaptured, and police said two of the attackers were arrested.
A pair of Boko Haram suicide bombers killed 11 people in a complex suicide attack at a church on a military base in Kaduna. “Gunmen” killed three Christians in Kano.
The al Qaeda-linked Nigerian terror group has carried out at least 19 suicide attacks this year. Boko Haram’s targets have included churches, mosques, newspapers, government officials, and security forces.
The Nigerian military offered rewards for information leading to the arrest of Boko Haram’s top leaders. The military offered $312,500 for the group’s emir, Abubakar Shekau; $156,000 each for four senior leaders; and $62,500 for 14 commanders.
Nigerian security forces claim to have killed a senior Boko Haram leader suspected of facilitating the assassination of General Shuwa Mohammad earlier this month. Six other Boko Haram affiliates were also killed in the operation.
The Joint Task Force claimed it killed Ibn Saleh Ibrahim and several of his lieutenants during a series of raids in Maiduguri. Ibrahim commanded Boko Haram forces in the city and is said to be responsible for killing a general.
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The Joint Task Force killed four suspected Boko Haram fighters during a raid in Gashua. The Chief of Army Staff claimed that Boko Haram has killed more than 3,000 people in Nigeria.
Residents in Maiduguri claimed that members of the Joint Task Force killed 48 young men during raids in the Kalari neighborhood. Amnesty International accused Nigerian security forces of illegally detaining and torturing suspected Boko Haram fighters.
Boko Haram named six mediators, including a presidential candidate, to negotiate with the government. A senator is suing senior government ministers and officials for issuing a press release that claimed a Boko Haram operative was arrested in his home.
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A suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed jeep into a Catholic church in Kaduna on Sunday, killing at least eight people and wounding over 100. At least two more people died in reprisal killings.
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The Joint Military Task Force said that Boko Haram is planning to conduct “massive attacks” during the Eid al Kabir holiday. The JTF said Boko Haram has “invited foreign mercenaries to assist them” in attacking military and civilian targets.
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