Kano (West Africa): Five Nigerian soldiers were killed and several are missing after an ambush by Boko Haram's ISS-backed faction. Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Friday opened fire on a column of civilian vehicles under military escort in the northeastern Borno State.
According to a militia fighting against the jihadists alongside the army, the troops were escorting residents from the village of Sabon Garin Kimba which lies 130 kilometres from the state capital Maiduguri, in dozens of trucks to a camp in the town of Damboa about 50 kilometres away.
They were being evacuated from the village, ahead of a major military offensive against ISWAP, which has recently increased its activities in the area.
One military officer said the attackers had seized two military trucks and tried to immobilise an armoured vehicle by destroying its tyres yet the driver managed to drive it to safety.
"We lost five soldiers in the ambush, two were wounded and several are missing, their fate still unknown," he revealed.
"As they approached Bungiri village ISWAP laid an ambush on the convoy. The troops engaged the terrorists in a gun battle, all civilians were able to escape but five soldiers were killed," a second military source stated.
A search and rescue operation is underway, the officer said.
Last month the jihadists raided a nearby military base in Mararrabar Kimba. They killed five troops and ransacked weapons, while some 30 troops are still listed as missing. The ISWAP has targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that have killed scores of soldiers since July last year.
On Monday, its fighters pillaged a base in the town of Gubio, 80 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing three soldiers, although, the group claimed it killed 20 soldiers.
Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced around two million in Nigeria.
The violence has also spilt over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the jihadist group.
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