ISWAP Raid Kills Six Soldiers at Borno Military Base

According to AFP, terrorists belonging to the Islamic State group killed six soldiers during a raid on a military base in northeastern Nigeria.

According to two military commanders, gunmen from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) launched a pre-dawn attack on Sunday at the Sabon Gari camp in Borno State’s Damboa area, using vehicles and motorcycles.

The militants reportedly set fire to the base and army vehicles. “We lost six soldiers in the ISWAP terrorist attack on the base after an intense gun battle,” one of the officers told AFP.

According to reports, fighter jets launched from Maiduguri, the regional capital, 100 kilometres (62 miles) distant, attacked the attackers as they fled.

“Airstrikes against the fleeing terrorists resulted in multiple militant fatalities, the destruction of operational vehicles, and their weaponry,” another military officer told AFP, without specifying the number of ISWAP casualties.

Major General Edward Buba, spokesman for Defence Headquarters, confirmed the assault on the troops but did not provide any casualty estimates.

“We have confirmed that troops experienced setbacks during operations in the area.” He proceeded: “We have set up an inquiry to confirm the details of what transpired, after which I will provide them in due course.”

Since 2009, northern Nigeria has been ravaged by jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and its rival offshoot, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), as well as violent criminal organisations.

More than 40,000 people have died in the conflict, and almost two million have been displaced from their homes in the northeast.
In November, ISWAP members stormed a camp in Kareto hamlet near the Niger border, killing five Nigerian soldiers and wounded ten more.