Eight Nigerian soldiers have been killed after their patrol vehicle struck a landmine allegedly planted by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in Borno State.
The explosion occurred on Saturday in Kinuba village, about 25 kilometres from Gamboru, near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, according to defence sources.
The soldiers were reportedly inspecting anti-jihadist militia members clearing thickets along a highway when their vehicle ran over the explosive, killing all eight personnel on board.
A military officer in the region confirmed the death toll, while Ibrahim Liman, a militia member supporting the military, said the explosive had been planted on the dusty road and remotely detonated.
Liman added that a militia member supervising the clearing operation sustained shrapnel injuries.
The attack occurred on the same day the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, visited Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, following an earlier assault on a military base that left 15 soldiers and five anti-jihadist militia members dead.
ISWAP and its rival, Boko Haram, have increasingly used roadside explosives against military personnel and civilians in northeastern Nigeria.
The groups also exploit thick vegetation along highways to conceal themselves and launch ambushes against troops and motorists.
Although the insurgency, which began in 2009, has declined from its peak a decade ago, violence has intensified in recent years, particularly in the Lake Chad region.
The prolonged conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about two million others in northeastern Nigeria. It has also spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting regional military cooperation to combat the armed groups.
