Tag Archives: Military

Boko Haram Repelled After Surprise Attack

Nigerian military officials imposed a curfew in Maiduguri after Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram launched a surprise attack.

Witnesses say the streets are empty in the town with all schools, markets and hospitals shut down.  The army claims the action is in place to protect the city.

The terrorists were fought off by a coalition of military troops and local residents.  The terrorists reportedly focused on taking over a heavily fortified army base.

Maiduguri is the largest city in north-eastern Nigeria with around two million citizens.  The town had been a base for Boko Haram until recent military victories drove the terrorist group out of villages and into the woods.

Military officials called it the strongest attempt by the terrorists to recapture the town since March declaration by the government that all major towns have been cleared of the terrorist group.

A leader of the civilian troops told AFP news agency that the terrorists suffered “serious casualties” before they withdrew.

The Army says that Boko Haram has now planted land mines around the border of the game reserve where they are hiding after being driven out of the cities.

Threat Condition Raised At Military Bases

Security conditions at U.S. military bases were raised overnight because of potential threats of a jihadist attack.

The official move from U.S. Northern Command comes hours after FBI Director James Comey said there are thousands of ISIS followers in the United States.

“We have a general concern, obviously, that ISIL is focusing on the uniformed military and law enforcement,” Comey told reporters Thursday.  “It’s like the devil sitting on their shoulders, saying ‘kill, kill, kill.”

“We have the same concern about the potential threat posed by violent homegrown extremists,” said Captain Jeff Davis, spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command which oversees all U.S. military installations in the continental U.S.

CNN reported that an official confirmed “Force Protection Bravo” status, defined as an “increased and predictable threat of terrorism.”  The last time military bases in the homeland had this condition for any significant length of time was the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“We are doing this as a prudent measure due to a lot of things in the news lately,” Davis said. “While this change is not tied to a specific credible threat, recent events have led us to recognize the need to take prudent steps to ensure that our security measures can be increased quickly.”

FBI director Comey said the biggest problem is that these people “go dark” like Elton Simpson, one of the two terrorists who attempted the Texas Mohammed Cartoon contest attack.

“The haystack is the entire country,” Comey said. “We are looking for the needles, but increasingly the needles are unavailable to us. … This is the ‘going dark’ problem in living color. There are Elton Simpsons out there that I have not found and I cannot see.”

Nepal Death Toll Over 4,000

The death toll in the massive Nepal earthquake and aftershock has passed the 4,000 mark and local officials say it’s likely to continue a fast rise over the next few days.

Almost every member of the Nepalese military has been dispatched for search and rescue operations with focus on villages that have been inaccessible due to debris and damage.

Officials have now confirmed at least 7,000 people have been injured as a result of the quakes.  The hospitals are full and tent surgical theaters and treatment tents have been set up in the parking areas and open fields near the hospitals.

The Nepalese government has sent out an emergency call for “tents, dry goods, blankets, mattresses and 80 different medicines”.

The United States announced Monday an additional $9 million in relief supplies for the rescue effort.  China, India and Pakistan have sent emergency response teams to the region.  International aid agencies say that Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand have also contributed to the rescue efforts.

The United Nations World Food Program said they are preparing a “large, massive operation” for the region.

A spokesman for World Vision released a somber statement to the press.  Matt Darvas said that some villages that were on mountainsides could be completely buried by rock falls.  Some of the villages that are wiped out had up to 1,000 residents.