Boko Haram: Damaturu under attack

Boko Haram’s siege in the north of Nigeria continued in its almost daily successions as explosions and gunfire rocked Damaturu, the Yobe State capital on Monday morning. Reports say the town had been surrounded by the insurgents.

Residents told AFP news agency that the attack targeted the police.

According to the news agency,

The sound of blasts and heavy weapons being fired woke locals in the Gujba Road area of the Yobe state capital at about 4:45 am (0345 GMT), said Umar Sada, who lives in the area. 

“We have left our homes. We are now in the bush. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” said local man Umar Sada, who said a police barracks had been destroyed.

UPDATES gotten by Premium Times this morning reads:

An Air Force jet has arrived Damaturu, and is engaging the Boko Haram fighters. "We are hearing the sound of the jet fighter hovering the skies amid heavy sounds of explosions. We don't know what to do. We are still lying on the ground inside our room," said Yaya Haruna, a civil servant and resident of the city.

The military personnel on ground in Damaturu are said to be careful in their response to the sudden attack. They said they want to try as much as possible to avoid the shooting of civilians in their exchange of gunfire with the terrorists.