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Boko Haram kills three soldiers, overrun Nigerian army base
KANO, Nigeria, Nov 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Boko Haram jihadists have killed
three soldiers in an attack on a military base in northeast Nigeria’s Borno
state near Lake Chad, military and civilian sources said.
Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) driving in
several trucks attacked the base in Cross-Kauwa village on Tuesday and
engaged troops in an hours-long gunfight, the sources told AFP late
Wednesday.
“We lost three soldiers in the fight,” said a military officer who asked
not to be named.
“The soldiers fought the terrorists but were overpowered and had to
withdraw from the base,” he added.
A Cross-Kauwa resident said the Islamists stormed the village in trucks
fitted with anti-aircraft guns around 8:00 pm (1900 GMT).
“The insurgents fought the soldiers for three hours and forced them to
abandon the base,” said the resident who wanted to be identified only by his
first name, Bukar, for fear of reprisals.
Buba said troops withdrew to the garrison town of Monguno, 18 kilometres
(11 miles) away while others stopped at another base in nearby Kekeno which
Boko Haram has made several failed attempts to overrun in recent weeks.
The news of the attack was slow to emerge due to a lack of communications
in the region following destruction of telecom facilities by the jihadists.
Boko Haram has in recent months intensified attacks on military targets in
Borno and Yobe states in the northeast.
Since July, AFP has tracked 17 attacks on military bases, most of which
were claimed by ISWAP.
In the most audacious attack on November 18, ISWAP fighters killed at
least 43 soldiers when they overran a base in Metele village near the border
with Niger, although soldiers who survived the raid said more than 100 of
their colleagues were killed.
On Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari visitied troops in Maiduguri, the
epicentre of the insurgency and urged the military to show more commitment in
fighting the jihadists.
The Nigerian leader was due in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, on Thursday
for talks with his regional counterparts in a fighting force against the
jihadists.
Buhari who came to power in 2015 on the promise to end the violence has
come under pressure following the recent surge in Boko Haram attacks as he
seeks re-election in February polls.
BSS/AFP/RY/1602 hrs