At least eight soldiers have been killed after their patrol vehicle ran over a landmine allegedly planted by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in Borno state.
The incident occurred on Saturday in Kinuba village, about
25 kilometres from Gamboru, near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.
The soldiers were reportedly inspecting anti-jihadist
militia members clearing thickets along a highway outside Gamboru when their
vehicle struck the explosive.
A military officer in the region said all eight soldiers
aboard the vehicle died in the explosion.
Ibrahim Liman, a member of the anti-jihadist militia
assisting the military, also confirmed the death toll to AFP.
Liman said the explosive was planted on a dusty road and
remotely detonated using a detonating cord.
He added that a militia member supervising the clearing operation sustained shrapnel injuries.
The attack occurred on the same day Waidi Shaibu, chief of
army staff (COAS), visited Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, following an
assault on a military base that killed 15 soldiers and five anti-jihadist
militia members days earlier.
ISWAP, an affiliate of the Islamic State group, is active in
the area, where terrorists frequently use roadside thickets as cover to ambush
troops and motorists.
On October 8, the Nigerian Army said some soldiers were
killed after terrorists launched a “coordinated multi-directional assault” in
Kukawa, Borno state.
In August, one soldier was killed during an operation to
repel terrorist attacks targeting a military barrack and two communities in
Bodinga LGA of Sokoto state.
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