Eight soldiers have paid the supreme sacrifice after their patrol vehicle hit a landmine planted by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in Borno State. The blast occurred near the Cameroon border on Saturday while the troops were on duty inspecting highway.
The incident took place at Kinuba village, located about 25 kilometres outside Gamboru. The troops were supervising anti-jihadist civilian militia members engaged in clearing thickets along the route when their military van rolled over the concealed explosive device.
Dawn Herald gathered that the explosion destroyed the operational vehicle, resulting in the death of all eight military personnel on board. Additionally, a civilian militia member supervising the thicket clearing sustained varying degrees of injuries from flying shrapnel during the attack.
The deadly ambush coincided with the operational visit of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shuaibu, to Maiduguri. The army chief arrived in the state capital on Saturday after a separate attack on a military base days earlier, which claimed the lives of 15 soldiers and five militia members.
According to reports gathered, security experts claimed ISWAP and Boko Haram insurgents now utilize the thick bushes along Gamboru highway as cover to launch ambushes against military convoys and commercial motorists.
While the military has degraded the capacity of the insurgents since the conflict peaked over a decade ago, asymmetrical attacks have seen a slight resurgence over the past two years. The decade-long insurgency has displaced approximately two million people across the northeast and claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The regional instability subsequently prompted the establishment of a joint military coalition comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon to completely rout the fleeing terrorists from the Lake Chad basin.
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