Eight Nigerian Soldiers killed as ISWAP landmine hits Army patrol vehicle in Borno

At least eight Nigerian soldiers have been killed after a landmine struck an army patrol vehicle in Borno State, with military and local security sources blaming the attack on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The incident occurred on Saturday in Kinuba village, about 25 kilometres from Gamboru, near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, according to defence sources who spoke to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday.

The attack came 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 reportedly killed 15 soldiers and five members of an anti-jihadist militia.

According to the sources, troops were inspecting militia members engaged in clearing thick vegetation along a highway outside Gamboru when their vehicle ran over the explosive device.

The explosion killed all eight soldiers travelling in the vehicle.

“All eight soldiers in the vehicle were killed in the explosion,” a military officer in the region told AFP.

Ibrahim Liman, a member of an anti-jihadist militia supporting the military, corroborated the reported death toll, saying the explosive had been planted on the dusty road and remotely detonated.

“The explosive was planted on the dusty road and remotely detonated by a detonating cord,” Liman said.

He added that a militia member supervising the vegetation-clearing operation sustained shrapnel injuries in the blast.

The sources attributed the attack to ISWAP, an armed group active in the region. However, the attribution was based on the accounts provided to AFP.

Landmine Attacks Raise Security Concerns

The incident highlights the continuing threat posed by improvised explosive devices along roads used by military personnel and civilians in Nigeria’s North-East.

ISWAP and its rival, Boko Haram, have increasingly used landmines and other explosive devices to target military patrols and civilian traffic.

Dense vegetation along highways also provides cover for ambushes against troops and motorists, further complicating security operations in the region.

Nigeria’s jihadist conflict began in 2009 and has killed tens of thousands of people, while displacing an estimated two million residents from their homes in the North-East.

Although the violence declined from its peak about a decade ago, attacks have increased in recent years, according to the AFP report.

The insurgency has also affected neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting regional cooperation and the deployment of a multinational military coalition to combat the armed groups.

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