An attack by suspected Boko Haram jihadists on the Chadian military base of Barka Tolorom has killed no fewer than 24 people, a military official and regional administrator told AFP yesterday.

Monday’s raid “left 25 dead and 46 wounded on the Chadian army side”, the army source told AFP, while the administrative official gave a toll of “24 dead and several wounded”.

They attributed the attack to Boko Haram, with the administrator insisting that “the situation is under control.”

“Once again, the nebulous Boko Haram terrorist group carried out a cowardly attack last night on our military base at Barka Tolorom,” Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said yesterday in a Facebook post.

“We will continue the fight with renewed determination until this threat is completely eradicated,” he pledged, offering his condolences to the bereaved families.

Soldiers have come under increasing fire from Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, with an October 2024 attack leaving some 40 dead in the Chadian army’s ranks.

Recent months have also seen a surge in attacks by the group’s JAS faction, including kidnappings and attacks on advanced army positions, especially on the islands and along Niger’s portion of the lake’s shores.

In response to the October 2024 attack, Deby launched a counter-offensive, which he vowed to “personally” lead on the ground for two weeks.

After that offensive ended in February 2025, the army insisted that Boko Haram had “no more sanctuary on Chadian territory.”

Lake Chad’s islands and marshes also serve as a haven for Boko Haram’s rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

IN a similar vein, daredevil terrorists, led by a notorious gang leader, Mohammed Fulani, have killed 11 civilians in a reprisal attack on two communities in Kankia Local Council of Katsina State.

The incident occurred on Sunday, May 3, at about 12 p.m. when the terrorists, in their numbers and armed with automatic weapons, attacked Gwalgoro and Jeka da Kolo villages in the council area.

A statement by a spokesperson for the police command, DSP Abubakar Aliyu, said the hoodlums had earlier carried out two separate attacks, which were botched by security operatives.

“Eleven persons were fatally shot during the attack before police tactical teams re-mobilised and repelled the assailants,” Aliyu said.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Ali Umar Fage, condemned “the reprisal attack in strong terms and extends his condolences to the families of the deceased.”