Nigerian military intelligence officials say they were surprised at the sophisticated weapons being used by Boko Haram insurgents. The reaction came after Nigerian troops captured a T-55 armored tank and a highly sophisticate Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) from the Islamist insurgents in a battle yesterday at Konduga, Borno State.
Our sources said Boko Haram fighters made another big and desperate push to take Konduga, a town that has been the scene of incessant battles and disastrous outings for Boko Haram fighters in recent weeks.
Boko Haram began their latest push on Thursday, attacking Konduga from several angles. But when they found out they were getting defeated, some of the Islamist fighters arrived at the scene of battle from the Bama axis with a surprise weapon, a
T-55 tank. Our military sources disclosed that the insurgents had never previously used such a mammoth weapon in battle.
The tank and APC were eventually seized from the insurgents after a fierce battle in which soldiers killed more than 100 Boko Haram terrorists. some 15 soldiers were also killed during the firefight that lasted several hours.
The Nigerian army said the seizure of the tank was a major blow to the insurgents.
"The sheer power of the tank surprised us. And the tank has camouflage painting that made it blend with the area in a way that it could not have easily been detected by Nigerian jets flying over the area," said a military officer.
SaharaReporters obtained an exclusive photo of the armored tank which was taken to the Maimalari Barracks after its capture.
One of our military sources said that Boko Haram's ownership of the tank shows the extent to which the sect is funded by powerful as well as wealthy supporters and an indication of the strength of the Islamic group's foreign links.
http://saharareporters.com/2014/09/27/nigerian-troops-capture-monstrous-armored-tank-boko-haram-insurgents

How did bh bois had this tank in the first place? God save Nigeria

That thing in the picture is a panhard ERC- 90 sagale not a tank abeg op wey the tank

Did d tank fall from d sky?.....how did it get into d hands of d BH members without anyone detecting? What channels did it pass through before reaching BH? There is more LOCAL involvement than foreign involvement in this menace.

Kudos to our gallant soldiers.
Certainly this war will be over soon....by the grace of God.
However, from which port was that machine cleared?
Who collected the duty and levy for the machine and who is the agent that handled the clearing?
The last time I checked, there's no company manufacturing such a monster in Nigeria....so how did it get to hands of the sect?

God bless Nigeria.

Please, what is special about that konduga

I guess the tank was one of those captured in gwoza.hence one is still misding

ifyclose2: Did d tank fall from d sky?.....how did it get into d hands of d BH members without anyone detecting? What channels did it pass through before reaching BH? There is more LOCAL involvement than foreign involvement in this menace.

During the battle to recapture gwoza NA lost two T-55 tanks that day after troops retreated without providing covering fire for the tanks.nothing has been heard abt it sincr then.i guess we now know they are still functional

!

Next topic... Kip it up nairaland

Op please stop lying today is Sunday. How can you call this thing "monstrous" ?

Another good news.

agentakins: s.
"The sheer power of the tank surprised us. And the tank has camouflage painting that made it blend with the area in a way that it could not have easily been detected by Nigerian jets flying over the area," said a military officer.

Buried deep in this tantalizingly brief battle update is the above diamond in the rough, which makes tangential reference to the near-secret role played by Nigerian air-power, in making sure the enemy FEARS that bellowing bear in the air, whose air-to-surface missiles and strafing runs are no doubt wreaking serious havoc on the slave-raiding Boko Haram terror gang.