PHOTO:Boko Haram stage deadly attacks on Nigerian soldiers!- Sani Usman
Boko Haram fighters attacked
Nigerian troops early on Monday, the army said, after two suspected suicide
bombers were shot dead near military positions.
Army spokesman Sani Usman said in a
brief emailed statement: “Boko Haram terrorists attack troops of 113 Battalion
at Kareto, northern Borno state.
“The troops have been battling the
insurgents since the early hours of today.”
A soldier with the regiment told AFP
the troops were ordered to the town of Damasak near the border with Niger and
took up position in Kareto, some 38 kilometres (24 miles) away.
“Today at about 6:30 am (0530 GMT),
two suicide bombers approached us and we shot at them and they exploded,” he
said.
“We took up position in our trenches
and fired back but they kept firing RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades), which we
didn’t have.
“We lost some men, I don’t know how
many, and many others were injured. Some of us fled in disarray. We realised
that we were outnumbered and outgunned.”
The troops withdrew to Jeyimolo
village and a fighter jet was deployed to Kareto while a search was launched
for the dead and missing, he added.
A local chief confirmed the attack
but said further details were still sketchy.
President Muhammadu Buhari said in
December the Islamist militants had been weakened to the extent they could no
longer mount conventional attacks against the military.
But the latest strike again
underlines the persistent threat posed by the Islamic State group affiliate,
particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas
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