No fewer than 20 suicide bombers equipped with Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) are on the loose during the last 10 days of the Muslim fast, Ramadan, counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad has said.
According to a tweet by the counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, the killing spree during the holy month of Ramadan would afford the terrorists a choice place in paradise.
Makama in a tweet on Saturday that the killer jihadists, jointly operating under the aegis of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), began the suicidal mission on April 22, 2022, and that it is expected to last for the remaining 10 days of Ramadan.
The joint operation of the terrorists has mapped Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State and Bama Local Government Area of the state as their primary targets, he noted.
“Reliably informed that Boko Haram/ISWAP from Sambisa have prepared about 20 persons with Personnel Borne Improvised Explosives Devices,” Makama wrote.
The insurgents believe that shedding the blood of ‘infidels’ (an infidel is a person accused of disbelief in the central tenets of one’s own religion, such as members of another religion, or the irreligious) during Ramadan increases their rewards — the reason some of them do not fast when going for an attack.
Sadly, the terrorists believe that insurgents or suicide bombers who lost their lives during the killing spree died a martyr.
“As Ramadan is halfway through, the complex attacks during the first half of the month indicate the group’s ideology and belief that heightened attacks during this period attract multiple divine rewards for their action,” Makama tweeted.
He added: “Sources disclosed that ISWAP going for attacks were told to suspend fasting to gather much energy, believing that if they die within the last 10 days, it’s going to be straight to paradise.”
He, therefore, urged the defence headquarters and police authorities that “emphasis must be placed on Damboa, Gaidam, Maiduguri and Bama within these periods.”
Meanwhile, suspected ISWAP bombs have hit two targets in Iware town in the Ardo Kola Local Government Area and Jalingo, both in Taraba State, killing six persons and injuring scores.
SaharaReporters reported earlier today that a loud explosion rocked Gashu’a town, the headquarters of Bade Local Government Area of Yobe State, on Sunday.
Gashu’a is also the home town of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
The incident, which could be the third explosion caused by the terrorists, was said to have occurred at a beer parlour in the Abasha area of the town and at the time Muslims were observing late evening prayers.