Borno ISWAP landmine blast kills eight soldiers near Cameroon border

At least 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 monitored members of an anti-jihadist militia clearing thick vegetation along a highway, according to reports citing military and militia sources.

A military officer in the region confirmed that all eight soldiers travelling in the vehicle died in the blast.

Ibrahim Liman, a member of the militia supporting the military, also confirmed the death toll, saying the explosive had been planted on a dusty road and detonated remotely using a detonating cord.

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

The reported attack highlights few of the dangers facing military personnel operating along roads in Borno, where insurgents exploit roadside vegetation to conceal explosives and launch attacks on security forces and motorists.

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

The earlier assault took place in Kukawa Local Government Area, where insurgents launched a coordinated attack on troops.

The Nigerian Army had said soldiers came under a coordinated, multi-directional assault during the attack, which occurred amid renewed fighting against insurgent groups in the North-East.

ISWAP, an affiliate of the Islamic State group, remains active in Borno and the wider Lake Chad region, alongside rival jihadist group Boko Haram.

Both groups have targeted military formations and patrols during the more than decade-long insurgency, which has caused widespread destruction, deaths and displacement across north-eastern Nigeria.

The incident adds to the security challenges confronting Nigerian troops as they continue operations against insurgents in communities and along vulnerable routes near the country’s border with Cameroon.