Boko Haram raid kills two soldiers in NE Nigeria

KANO, Nigeria: Boko Haram jihadists killed two soldiers and seriously wounded five militia members in separate attacks in the troubled northeast of the country, military and militia sources told AFP Sunday.

Gunmen from Boko Haram faction the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked a remote base in Buni Gari village, in Yobe state, 60 kilometres from the state capital Damaturu on Saturday, with six of the attackers killed.

“We lost two soldiers in the attack and six terrorists were also killed and their bodies recovered by soldiers,” a military officer told AFP.

Air support and reinforcements from a military base in the nearby town of Buni Yadi “effectively routed” the jihadists, said the officer. He asked not to be named because he was not cleared to speak about the incident.

A member of the militia fighting beside the troops confirmed that the bodies of two soldiers and six jihadists had been recovered after the gun battle, which lasted less than an hour.

Buni Yadi district is a known ISWAP stronghold

Around the same time in Maiduguri, capital of neighbouring Borno state, a female suicide bomber seriously wounded five members of the local militia at a checkpoint.

Civilian militia members had stopped two female suicide bombers at Muna Garage security checkpoint, but one managed to detonate her suicide vest, militia leader Babakura Kolo said.— AFP