Terrorists associated with the Islamic State group have taken the lives of six soldiers in an assault on a military installation in northeastern Nigeria, according to two military officials who spoke to AFP on Monday.
Members of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) conducted a pre-dawn raid on Sunday, attacking the base in Sabon Gari, located in the Damboa district of Borno State, using trucks and motorcycles, the military sources disclosed.
They set the base ablaze along with the army vehicles present; the sources reported on the condition of anonymity since they were not permitted to discuss the situation publicly.
Fighter jets dispatched from Maiduguri, the regional capital situated 100 kilometres away, targeted the attackers as they made their retreat, according to the second military officer, who confirmed the exact casualty count.
“The air strikes against the fleeing terrorists led to multiple militant deaths and the destruction of their operational vehicles and weapons,” the officer reported. However, he did not provide a count of ISWAP losses.
Since 2009, northern Nigeria has suffered from the activity of various terrorist factions, including Boko Haram and its rival faction, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), in addition to armed criminal groups.
The conflict has resulted in over 40,000 fatalities and has displaced approximately two million individuals from their homes in the northeastern region.
In November, five Nigerian soldiers lost their lives, and ten others were injured when ISWAP militants attacked a base in Kareto village close to the border with Niger.
