As many as three Nigerian soldiers have been killed in a Borno State community after Boko Haram attacked their convoy.
File photo: Boko Haram members
Boko Haram fighters have ambushed a military convoy in Borno State, leaving casaulties behind.
Security and civilian sources told revealed on Thursday that at least three soldiers were killed during the attack.
According to Agence France Presse, AFP, the attack, which happened on Wednesday near the town of Damboa, on the edge of Boko Haram’s Sambisa Forest enclave in Borno state, is the second against the military within a week.
Last Friday, one soldier was killed and nine others were wounded as the jihadists overran a military base in the town of Marte, near the shores of Lake Chad.
They then fled with arms and ammunition.
A senior military officer said the attack, which happened early on Wednesday, targeted a convoy travelling between Damboa and state capital Maiduguri.
“We lost three soldiers in the ambush by Boko Haram terrorists.
“The terrorists in large number opened fire on the convoy of the commanding officer of 81 Battalion… Five other troops were injured in the intense battle that broke out when soldiers engaged the attackers.”
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media, said the arrival of reinforcements forced the rebels to retreat.
A commercial bus driver who was caught in the ambush gave a similar account.
“I was one of those trailing behind the military convoy when Boko Haram opened fire and soldiers responded with fire,” said Sani Mato by telephone from Maiduguri.
“The soldiers were able to repel the attack but lost three men. Five were also injured.”
Roads to and from Maiduguri are nominally open to traffic but in reality, vehicles require a military escort because of the risk of attack.