The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for the recent attack that claimed no fewer than 87 lives in Yobe State.
It was reported earlier that the terrorists struck Mafa town around 4 pm on Sunday, killing residents and burning homes and shops.
Yesterday, reports emerged that the remains of 37 villagers who lost their lives during the attack were recovered.
It was revealed that the bodies of the victims had been taken to Babbangida General Hospital in preparation for a mass burial scheduled for 10 am.
The burial will be attended by Yobe State Deputy Governor, Hon Idi Barde Gubana, along with other senior government officials. It will take place at the Babangida Emir’s Palace, the administrative centre of Tarmuwa LG.
Sources who spoke to Daily Trust earlier noted that no fewer than 87 people were killed by the terrorists in the latest attack.
Subsequently, in a letter in Arabic, on Tuesday, ISWAP admitted to the attack.
They claimed the village was targeted for supposedly giving information to the military, which resulted in the deaths of their members.
The letter reads: “This is a message from the soldiers of the Caliphate in the West Africa Province to the leaders, mukhtars, and the rest of the residents and farmers in the town of Mafa and the villages around it.
“You have been tempted to remain in your countries in safety. The soldiers of the Caliphate will not harm you, nor threaten you with your money, nor hinder you from any activity of yours, whether agriculture, trade, etc., until you have arrogantly raised yourselves to a position in which you believe that your hands will reach our brothers with harm and remain uninterrupted.
“You have harmed our brothers in the past days in the town of (Bangaro) and its environs, and you cooperated and sympathized with the apostates in killing our brothers, and when we arrived in the area, we did not harm you.
“Rather, we limited ourselves to those whose hands were stained with the blood of our brothers, and who were attacked by their weapons, according to the information we found. We thought that by doing so we had warned you with the language of war, hoping that you would be deterred.
“However, this increased your arrogance and arrogance, so you repeated the same crime in the month of Safar.”
