A landmine exploded beneath a Nigerian military vehicle, killing seven troops in a northeastern region where Islamic State-affiliated jihadists operate, an anti-jihadist militia said Friday.
According to two militia sources, the soldiers were driving to Kukawa early Thursday when their vehicle collided with an improvised explosive device (IED).
“All seven soldiers in the van died in the explosion at Bawarti village,” claimed Babakura Kolo, chief of the anti-jihadist militia. Other militia officials, including Ibrahim Liman, verified the occurrence.
Both sources implicated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the major terrorist force in the Lake Chad region.
For over a decade, the Nigerian military has been combating a regional insurgency that has resulted in around 40,000 deaths and displaced two million people in northeast Nigeria.
Although the intensity of the conflict has diminished recently, ISWAP and Boko Haram continue to conduct sporadic ambushes on military convoys.