Eight Soldiers Killed As Army Vehicle Hits Landmine Planted By Terrorists In Borno

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

Eight Nigerian soldiers have reportedly been killed after their patrol vehicle struck a landmine allegedly planted by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in Borno State.

The incident occurred on Saturday in Kinuba village, about 25 kilometres from Gamboru, near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, according to defence sources who spoke to AFP on Sunday.

The soldiers were reportedly inspecting anti-jihadist militia members clearing thick vegetation along a highway when their vehicle ran over the explosive device and detonated, killing all eight occupants.

“All eight soldiers in the vehicle were killed in the explosion,” a military officer in the region said.

Ibrahim Liman, a member of the militia supporting the military’s counterinsurgency operations, also confirmed the death toll, explaining that the explosive had been planted on the unpaved road and remotely triggered.

“The explosive was planted on the dusty road and remotely detonated by a detonating cord,” Liman stated.

He added that a militia member supervising the vegetation-clearing operation sustained shrapnel injuries in the explosion.

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

ISWAP was blamed for the latest incident, as militants continue to exploit thick vegetation along highways to conceal explosives and ambush security personnel and road users.