Africa-Press. Two security sources said that gunmen suspected of belonging to the Boko Haram group killed seven Nigerian soldiers and captured 13 others, including their commander, in Borno State in the country’s northeast.
The sources said the troops were on patrol in the Damak area of Borno State at around 14:00 GMT when they engaged the gunmen. Seven soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire, while 11 soldiers managed to escape, but 13 others—including the commander, who held the rank of major—were captured. A security source familiar with the incident said: “The major fought bravely, but was eventually captured, and Boko Haram seized his phone.”
The sources added that when the troops returned to their camp and tried to call the number, a person claiming to be a member of Boko Haram answered, saying that the major and the remaining soldiers were being held by the group.
They said a military rescue team recovered the bodies of the seven slain soldiers but did not find the missing troops. A spokesperson for the Nigerian army did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
The Nigerian army has launched an offensive against the militants in the country’s northeast this year, pushing into areas that had been under insurgent control. Despite repeated offensives, Boko Haram and its splinter factions have continued to carry out large-scale attacks, exploiting difficult terrain, porous regional borders, and the limited government presence in parts of the arid northeast.
Boko Haram, an armed group that emerged in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in Nigeria and neighboring countries.
The group later split, with one of its factions joining the Islamic State group to form the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which has intensified its targeting of military bases in recent years.
