Two soldiers feared killed in fresh Boko Haram ambush

Two soldiers were feared killed in Damboa Council of Borno State after an Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by retreating Boko Haram terrorists went off on Thursday. The dead service men they were clearing remnants of fleeing insurgents in Golgore River and Talala axis of the state, when they were blown up..

Both men according to military sources in Maiduguri yesterday, were attached to 27 Task Force Brigade of Nigerian Army to
clear remnants of insurgents from Sambisa Forest.

“Our killed soldiers include an Army Captain and a Lieutenant that led the patrol team to clear remnants of terrorists from the forest,” the source said, adding that the troops were deployed in the Talala area for a counter-attack on the insurgents when the explosives accidently went off.

On troops’ ambush, he said: “The IEDs went off around 11am as the troops cleared the Boko Haram remnants in the Talala and Golgore River axis.

“The place of explosion is around the Golgore River in Damboa. We were not ambushed; it was an explosion and it killed the two and injured a few soldiers.

“Eight officers and 144 soldiers attached to the Nigerian Army, 27 Brigade Task Force, were deployed in the area to clear the Boko Haram remnants until the explosion occurred.”

In a related development, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Thursday said one of the challenges facing troops in the northeast
operation was that the sect members deliberately used their captives, including the Chibok girls, as shields to evade air strikes.

The NAF authorities explained that such strategy was frustrating air operations, as troops had to apply more caution in launching aerial attacks on suspected Boko Haram camps.