Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the IS-linked faction of Boko Haram, Tuesday claimed to have killed, at least, five Nigerian troops and 33 soldiers of the Multinational Joint Task Force are feared dead in a double attack.
ISWAP claimed on Amaq News Agency broadcast that five Nigerian soldiers were killed in an attack on Gajibo, Borno State, on Monday. The troops of the MNJTF were attacked the same day in Baga town, also in Borno State, northeast Nigeria.
The terror group revealed it used two improvised explosive devices (IED) during the attacks. A source said that while both attacks were confirmed, casualty figures could have been inflated by the terror group.
The army is yet to release a statement about the attacks.
On Monday, the faction also claimed to have killed 10 Nigerian troops in an attack in Sabon Gari, northeast of Biu town in Borno State.
It also claimed to have destroyed three tanks and captured two others and five other vehicles.
In another report, at least five Nigerian soldiers were killed and some 30 are missing three days after Boko Haram jihadis overran an army base.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), reported that “search and rescue teams are still looking for around 30 more soldiers who have gone missing since the attack” on last Friday.
Tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes due to the conflicts last for over a decade now.
The conflict has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition against the jihadists.
Nigerian army chief Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai last week warned of an ISWAP-Boko Haram alliance to carve out a jihadist enclave stretching from Nigeria’s northeast into the wider Lake Chad region.
