\u202212 sect members shot dead \u2022 Police: we took the battle to them<\/p>\n
Two senior police officers, namely the Squadron Leader of the 41 Mobile Police Unit in Damaturu, Yobe State, Kabiru Musa Mohamed, and the state\u2019s Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, Ibrahim Abubakar, were reported killed on Thursday night in the wake of a gun battle between the police and members of the Boko Haram sect.<\/span><\/p>\n There were reports that 12 of the sect members were also killed in the confrontation. Their bodies were picked up in the early hours of yesterday at Pompomari, a suburb Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.<\/span><\/p>\n A foreign news agency, Reuters, put the death toll at 24 after another round of battle between the sect and security forces yesterday. Suspected sect members were said to have opened fire on a group of policemen shortly after Friday prayers in the city, killing four, according to local police officials.<\/span><\/p>\n Reports indicate that the military have taken over the security operations in the state, while the residents of Pompomari have been given notice by the security to vacate the area.<\/span><\/p>\n A resident of Sabon Pagi, who spoke with our correspondent on the phone, said \u201cgunshots around Pompomari area is like music.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another resident said they all had to run into their houses for safety and fear of being caught in a cross fire.<\/span><\/p>\n Mallam Aji Manu, a resident of Buhari Estate in the town, said their houses in the estate almost crrumbled as a result of heavy explosions.<\/span><\/p>\n Jubril, a fleeing resident, confirmed that many people had fled the town and the streets had been deserted. \u2018\u2019It is better to stay indoor than walk around the streets of Damaturu,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/span><\/p>\n The Commissioner of Police in the state, Tanko Lawal, told our correspondent on the phone that the police actually took the battle to the sect members after resident reported suspected movement of the sect members to the police in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n Reuters also quoted Lawal as saying that a dusk to dawn curfew had been imposed on Damaturu. “The situation is now calm. We lost seven security men and twelve members of the Boko Haram sect were killed in the shoot out last night,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n “Though you cannot predict members of the sect, our men and the military are combat ready. Only one civilian was killed (in the violence on Thursday)”.<\/span><\/p>\n Explaining the genesis of the confrontation \u00a0to our reporter on the phone yesterday, Lawal said: \u201cWhat prompted the attack of Thursday night was the reports we got from the residents of the area over suspicious movements by the sect members in the area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n