50 Militants Boko Haram Died In Gunfight During Ambush

ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Temitope Adoeye/I Nigerian Agency

JAKARTA - As many as 50 Boko Haram militants were killed and seven members of Nigeria's infrastructure security forces were missing following a rebel ambush against a convoy that monitors the installation of power grids in the country.

Bababule Afolabi, Nigerian spokesman for Civil Defense Corp, a government agency formed to protect infrastructure, said security officers were ambushed by about 200 Boko Haram fighters during a patrol mission.

Afolabi said more than 50 insurgents were killed in the fighting but seven of its members were missing.

Search efforts are underway to find them in the bushes. He said several people from security forces were injured.

Although Boko Haram is mostly operating in the northeast, Nigerian authorities say the group has cells in the Muslim-majority state of Niger, where they previously carried out attacks on the military and civilians.

In a separate attack in northeastern Borno state, a military spokesman said five soldiers were killed by rebel suspects on Saturday.

Boko Haram, which has waged a 15-year insurgency, especially in the northeast, has been weakened by the military and internal fighting.

But the militants remain a threat for carrying out deadly attacks on civilians and targeted by the government.