Suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents have intercepted four trailers loaded with cattle and rustled over 100 cows near Kareto in Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.
The attack occurred around 1:25 p.m. shortly after the trailers departed Damasak en route to Maiduguri, according to local and security sources.
Sources said the insurgents blocked the road and held the area for more than an hour, waiting for all four trailers to arrive before launching the assault. The attackers reportedly forced the vehicles to a halt, offloaded the cattle, and herded them into the bush before setting the trailers ablaze.
“In fact, they waited for the other two trailers to arrive before setting the heads ablaze. Over a hundred cows were stolen,” a source disclosed.
The drivers were said to have escaped without injury. One of them recounted that the vehicles left Damasak about 30 minutes apart but met the insurgents who had barricaded the road until all the trailers assembled.
“Thank God, they did not kill us, but they burnt down our vehicles. I’m on my way to Maiduguri now,” the driver said.
He lamented the absence of security personnel along the route, blaming it for the frequent attacks in the area. He urged authorities to strengthen security presence on the road, similar to measures implemented along the Gwoza axis where soldiers have been strategically deployed.
The latest incident comes barely two days after insurgents reportedly set ablaze four trucks transporting beans from Monguno to Maiduguri near Garin Kashim in Guzamala LGA.
Earlier, on February 1, 2026, gunmen killed 17 residents in Guzamala-Abbari village, an attack condemned by the Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, who represents the constituency.
