At least 14 people, including 10 soldiers, were killed on Monday following a series of attacks carried out by jihadist fighters on military bases and communities in northeast Nigeria.
A Nigerian military spokesman confirmed that several coordinated assaults targeted military positions in the region but stated that all affected locations remained under government control despite the attacks.
The incidents form part of the continuing insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast, where armed groups have waged a prolonged campaign for more than 16 years. Although the level of violence has reduced compared to its peak a decade ago, attacks on security forces and civilian communities still occur across the region.
According to security sources, fighters from Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) carried out separate attacks on military installations in Borno State, widely regarded as the epicentre of the insurgency, as well as in neighbouring Yobe State.
A Nigerian security report indicated that ISWAP militants launched an overnight assault on a military base in Kukawa town in Borno State, located in the Lake Chad region. The attack reportedly resulted in the deaths of four troops, including a military commander.
Ali Kaka, a member of an anti-jihadist militia supporting the military in the region, said the militants engaged troops in a gun battle that lasted about three hours.
According to him, the clash left three soldiers and one militia member dead.
In a separate incident, suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked the community of Dalwa in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State, killing two soldiers and four residents.
Shettima Isa Bukar, the local community leader, said the attackers also set fire to more than 200 homes before withdrawing from the area.
Another attack occurred in neighbouring Yobe State, where suspected Boko Haram militants raided a military base in the town of Goniri. The attackers reportedly killed four soldiers and set several buildings and military vehicles ablaze during the raid.
Manu Ibrahim, a resident of the nearby town of Katarko, confirmed the attack and the destruction of facilities within the base.
Reacting to the incidents, Lieutenant-Colonel Sani Uba, a military spokesman for the northeast, acknowledged that some personnel lost their lives while defending the affected locations.
The spokesman stated that the assaults “claimed the lives of some brave and gallant soldiers, including an outstanding officer in Kukawa who paid the ultimate price.”
He did not provide an exact figure for the number of soldiers killed in the attacks.
Boko Haram and ISWAP have recently intensified assaults on military bases and communities in Nigeria’s northeast as their insurgency continues across the region.
The conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 people and displaced about two million others across Nigeria and neighbouring countries within the Lake Chad Basin.
The latest attacks follow another deadly incident last week when Boko Haram fighters raided a military base and attacked the nearby town of Ngoshe in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, near the border with Cameroon. The attack left seven soldiers and 11 civilians dead after residents were shot and others abducted.
Amid the ongoing security challenges, the United States began deploying troops to Nigeria in February to provide technical and training support to Nigerian forces engaged in operations against the jihadist groups.
The deployment followed allegations of “genocide” against Nigerian Christians raised in the United States. The claims were rejected by the Nigerian government and independent analysts, who stated that the violence linked to insurgency and armed conflict in Nigeria affects both Christian and Muslim communities.
