Boko Haram Commander's Body Found With Thousands Of Euros In Nigeria After Foiled Attack

Nigerian troops have found thousands of euros on the body of a slain Boko Haram kingpin in Borno state near the border with Cameroon. The terrorist commander was one of several Boko Haram fighters killed Saturday during a foiled attack on Nigerian Special Forces in Mafa district, according to local media reports.

“Thousands of Euro currency were found on the body of a terrorist commander after troops successfully repelled a terrorist attack on Mafa towards the border,” Nigeria Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said in a statement Monday, obtained by THISDAY. “The terrorist, who is also an Amir by status, and believed to be of foreign descent, is among about 30 terrorist fighters who died in the encounter while many others fled with wounds.”

The Nigerian army also recovered from the Islamist insurgents a number of ding rifles, a machine gun, rocket-propelled grenades and a Toyota Buffalo vehicle. Two armored vehicles belonging to the fighters were also destroyed in the repelled attack.

Boko Haram fighters armed with machetes stormed a village in Madagali district on Friday and hacked 10 residents to death. The attackers descended on the village of Pambula-Kwamda while residents were sleeping. The Nigerian army had declared the district surrounding the village free of the militant group in March, but attacks have continued. Last week, three people were killed and seven women abducted from the nearby village of Sabon Garin Hyembula in Madagali, CNN reported.

The Nigerian military has recaptured land from Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria but has not held on to all of the territory gains in recent months. Earlier this month, Boko Haram fighters retook Marte after Nigerian troops had recaptured the town in February.

More than 15,000 people have died in Nigeria since Boko Haram's insurgency began in 2009, and nearly 1.5 million have been displaced, according to the United Nations refugee agency.