Agency Report
An attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists on a military outpost in Borno State; has led to the death of five soldiers.
The casualties were confirmed by army sources on Thursday.
The insurgents had swooped on the military checkpoint in several trucks; opening fire at the soldiers manning the post. The attack took place on Wednesday at a checkpoint outside the town of Mainok in Borno state.
“We lost five soldiers in the surprise attack on the checkpoint,” a military officer; who did not want to be named, told AFP.
However, troops from the town intercepted the militants; leading to a gunfight in which some of the terrorists were killed and two vehicles fitted with machine guns were recovered.
Further, AFP quotes another military source who claims that the five soldiers manning the checkpoint were “outgunned” by Boko Haram. Also, the terrorists were said to have taken three military vehicles away.
Army spokesman late on Wednesday said that; its troops killed nine “Boko Haram terrorists” in an ambush. The army reported that the incident occurred outside Mainok.
In addition, Army spokesperson, Col. Sagir Musa said two soldiers were “slightly wounded” in the encounter. However, he did not mention any fatalities on the side of the troops.
Mainok, which lies along the 120km highway linking Maiduguri and Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe state; is a stronghold of ISWAP, a group which split from Boko Haram in 2016.
The area has seen an upsurge in abductions of civilians, prompting increased military deployments to confront the insurgents.
ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram due to misunderstandings between their leaders; has intensified attacks against the military since the middle of 2018. In January, 22 soldiers were killed in three separate ISWAP attacks in the area, according to military sources.
The over-decade long Boko Haram insurgency had led to the thousands in Nigeria. Also, it has displaced around two million from their homes in northeast Nigeria.
The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon; prompting a regional military coalition to fight the insurgents.