Six Nigerian Soldiers Killed in Jihadist Ambush

Kano, July 18: Six soldiers have been killed in an ambush by jihadists in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, two military sources told AFP Thursday. Heavily-armed fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group opened fire on a patrol vehicle Wednesday near Jakana, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, killing all the soldiers on board.

"We lost all six soldiers in the ambush, including a colonel," said the first of two military sources, who both spoke on condition of anonymity. Jihadist Attack in Burkina Faso Near Mali Border, 14 Civilians Killed: Army.

The soldiers were on their way to Maiduguri from Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe state, when the jihadists attacked them around 1620 GMT, said the source.

"The gun truck the soldiers were driving in was destroyed," the second source said.

Following the ambush the jihadists attacked a military base just outside Jakana in seven trucks fitted with machine guns, engaging troops in an hour-long battle, the sources said.

The attack was repelled by soldiers at the base, with ISWAP fighters abandoning weapons and one vehicle as they fled.

The attacks came hours after a military chief in the northeast warned terrorists in the region to disarm or be destroyed.

Major-General Abdulmalik Bulama Biu told reporters in Maiduguri that the jihadists should lay down their arms "or prepare for a fierce encounter with me".

The army have not officially confirmed the attacks.

The 120-km Maiduguri-Damaturu road has seen repeated attacks, on military bases and markets in villages like Jakana, committed by ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters -- the two jihadist factions operating in the region. In December last year at least 13 soldiers were killed in an ISWAP ambush near Kareto village along the highway.

The jihadists have also carried out several attacks on motorists on the highway, killing passengers and burning vehicles. After nearly a decade, the insurgency in northeast Nigeria rages on, spilling into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

More than 27,000 people have been killed and some two million forced to flee their homes.

Complicating the conflict further was a split within Boko Haram in 2016, which saw the breaking away of ISWAP, a group that has sworn allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 18, 2019 05:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).