Suspected Islamist insurgents have killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, after attacking an army base in a remote town in northeastern Borno state.
Security sources and residents told Reuters on Sunday that the latest assault happened on Friday, January 24, when ISWAP members arrived on gun trucks and attacked the army’s 149 Battalion in Malam-Fatori town.
One of the soldiers who survived the attack told Reuters by phone that troops were taken by surprise as the militants “rained bullets everywhere.”
“We tried so much to repel the attacks and after more than three hours of gun duel, they overpowered us, killing our commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel,” the soldier said.
Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have mainly operated in Borno, targeting security forces and civilians, in the process killing and displacing tens of thousands of people.