Chad forces kill six militants, lose five officers in raid

Suspected Boko Haram fighters blew themselves up during a police raid in Chad’s capital early on Monday, killing five officers and six militants, police and government officials said.

“After an interrogation, a suspect showed us a house for building bombs,” Interior Minister, Abderahim Bireme Hamid told Reuters. He blamed extremists for the attack, saying that “the mastermind of the network was arrested yesterday”. “Sixty people were detained”, including Nigerians, Chadians, Cameroonians and Malians, adding that one of three people behind the June 15 attacks – all killed in action by security forces – had been positively identified, while the identity of the two others was being checked.

“When five members of Boko Haram saw police arrest a member, they set off the explosives”, Bireme Hamid said on national radio.

He said the arrest also led investigators to discover the location of seven other terrorists hiding in a house in Diguel, a Dinguessou suburb, on the periphery of N’Djamena.

Boko Haram this year became the West African franchise of the Islamic State group (ISIS), which has called for more attacks during the holy month of Ramadan.

The raid follows a June 15 double suicide bombing which killed at least 33 people in N’Djamena in the deadliest attack of its kind in the city.

In reprisal for the June 15 bombings in N’Djamena, Chadian aircraft struck Boko Haram positions inside Nigeria, destroying six of the insurgents’ bases, according to the general staff.

Khamis said Fanay alias Mahamat Moustapha, was arrested by security forces after a fierce resistance.

According to the reporters, on Monday, during the police raid which took place in Chad’s capital, the suspected Boko Haram fighters had blown themselves up.