ISWAP Militant Kills 5 Nigerian Troops In Invasion At Military Base

JAKARTA - An affiliated militant group with Daesh killed five Nigerian soldiers and injured 10 others in a raid on a military base near the Nigerian border in Kareto Village, Borno state.

Nigerian military officers said in a statement Monday, November 18 that the militant attack on the Province of West Africa, Islamic State (ISWAP) took place on Saturday, November 16. The shootout between the military and ISWAP was inevitable.

"We lost five soldiers in the fighting with 10 others injured," said a senior military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity on the grounds of not being authorized to speak to the media.

North Nigeria is known to have been hit by bloody insurgency since 2009. Security on the border has been particularly vulnerable since the July 2023 military coup in Nigeria.

"Four of our people are still missing and search and rescue is underway to find them," he added.

Another source from the military who is also an officer said armed ISWAP militants ambushed four trucks equipped with anti-aircraft weapons and burned five other vehicles, including an antiranjau military truck.

Earlier, ISWAP in a statement published by SITE Intelligence claimed to have "killed and injured" more than 20 Nigerian soldiers in a suicide car bomb attack during the raid.

The group also claimed to have burned the base and burned 14 vehicles.