Women, Troops

Eight Nigerian soldiers have been killed after their patrol vehicle ran over a landmine allegedly planted by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters near the Cameroon border in Borno State.

The explosion occurred on Saturday in Kinuba village, about 25 kilometres from Gamboru, as troops inspected anti-jihadist militia members clearing thick vegetation along a highway, according to defence sources cited by AFP.

A military officer in the region said all eight soldiers aboard the vehicle died in the blast.

Ibrahim Liman, a member of the anti-jihadist militia assisting the military, also confirmed the death toll, saying the explosive was planted on the dusty road and detonated remotely using a cord.

Liman added that a militia member supervising the clearing operation was injured by shrapnel.

The attack came on the same day the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, visited Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, following an earlier attack on a military base that killed 15 soldiers and five members of the anti-jihadist militia.

The latest incident underscores the persistent security threat posed by jihadist groups operating in northeastern Nigeria, where ISWAP and its rival, Boko Haram, have increasingly used roadside explosives against military personnel and civilians.

The groups also exploit thick vegetation along highways to conceal themselves and launch ambushes against troops and motorists.

Nigeria’s jihadist insurgency began in 2009 and has killed tens of thousands of people, while displacing about two million residents from their homes in the country’s northeast.

The violence has also spread into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting regional countries to establish a military coalition to combat the insurgents.

LUKMAN ABDULMALIK
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