JTF killed 20 innocent civilians...not our members - Boko Haram

Islamist group, Boko Haram, on Monday, denied that 20 of its members were killed during Sunday’s raid by security forces in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, Borno state.

According to the sect, those killed by the Joint Task Force were innocent civilians.

The security agents had attacked a building on Sunday, following a tip-off that sect members were holding a meeting there. They had opened fire upon arrival and later announced that they killed 20 "terrorists" and lost one soldier in the ensuing shootout.

Abu Qaqa, spokesperson for the Boko Haram sect, however held a teleconference with journalists in Maiduguri and announced that his members had not been where the military said it killed them.

"They only succeeded in killing civilians," Qaqa said. "Twenty of us cannot risk sitting in a volatile place to hold a meeting ...It is not possible."

Boko Haram is responsible for hundreds of death in the northern region of the country, and Abuja, with Maiduguri coming under frequent attacks from the sect.