20120813
Press TV
Nigerian security forces have killed 20 suspected members of the Boko Haram militant group in a gun battle during a raid on one of the group’s hideouts in the restive northeastern city of Maiduguri.



The incident took place on Sunday after security forces received intelligence that some members of the group were holding a gathering in the Gwaidamgari area of Maiduguri, the capital of the Borno state, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, field operations officer of the military and police mixed Joint Task Force in Borno said, AFP reported.

Ebhaleme also said that one soldier was also killed and two others were injured in the shootout.

"Our men mobilized, leading to a shootout. Twenty suspected terrorists were killed while a soldier died in the operation and two others sustained injuries," he added.

A purported spokesman for Boko Haram, however, rejected the claim by the military, noting, "They (government soldiers) only succeeded in killing innocent civilians. It is not possible for 20 of our members to sit in a volatile place and hold (a) meeting.”

On May 11, Nigerian security forces arrested Suleiman Mohammed, Boko Haram's head of operations in Kano, along with his wife and five children, during a raid on his house in the northern city.

The extremist group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.

Human rights groups report that violent actions by Boko Haram since mid-2009 have claimed more than 1,000 lives, including over 300 this year alone.