Landmine blast kills eight Nigerian soldiers in Borno

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, near the border with Cameroon.

The explosion occurred on Saturday in Kinuba village, about 25 kilometres from Gamboru, as troops inspected anti-jihadist militia members clearing roadside thickets, according to defence sources cited by AFP on Sunday.

A military officer in the region said all eight soldiers aboard the vehicle died in the blast.

Ibrahim Liman, a member of the militia supporting the military’s counter-insurgency operations, confirmed the death toll, adding that another militia member was injured by shrapnel.

Liman said the explosive had been planted on the dusty road and detonated remotely using a detonating cord.

The attack occurred on the same day the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, visited Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, following a separate assault on a military base that reportedly killed 15 soldiers and five members of an anti-jihadist militia.

The latest incident highlights the continuing threat posed by improvised explosive devices and roadside mines in Nigeria’s North-East, where insurgents exploit roadside vegetation to ambush security forces and motorists.

ISWAP and its rival, Boko Haram, have increasingly used mines against military personnel and civilian targets along highways in the region.

Although the insurgency that began in 2009 has eased from its peak a decade ago, violence has intensified over the past two years, according to the report.

The prolonged conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about two million others from their homes in north-eastern Nigeria.

The violence has also spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting regional governments to collaborate in military operations against the insurgents.