Boko Haram Kills 27 Nigerian Soldiers During Intense Fighting

The terrorist group Boko Haram carried out a suicide attack on a unit of the Nigerian army, killing at least 27 soldiers, marking a new phase in the ongoing war between the extremist organization and the army, which has escalated in recent months.

While the army has been conducting intensive military operations for weeks against the group’s strongholds in large areas of northeastern Nigeria, a suicide bomber ambushed an army unit and detonated a car bomb, killing 27 soldiers, according to several sources on Sunday.

The army had been conducting a ground operation last Friday between the Borno and Yobe states, located in northeastern Nigeria, not far from the border with Niger, targeting strongholds of a faction of Boko Haram that is affiliated with the Islamic State in West Africa (ISIS-WA), before being attacked unexpectedly.

Sources said a suicide bomber in a car filled with explosives, hidden among trees in the forest, attacked the military convoy after nightfall. A military source told AFP, “27 soldiers were killed in the suicide attack, including the commander, and several others were seriously injured.”

Another military source added, “The forces couldn’t see clearly due to the darkness,” before predicting that the death toll might rise due to the condition of the wounded being “critical.”

Sources report that intense battles took place between the two sides after reinforcements from ISIS arrived in hundreds of fighters on armed trucks, and they attempted to encircle a military unit in the village of Malam Fatori, which is on the road to the Niger border.

One soldier who participated in the battle told Reuters in a phone interview that the forces “were surprised” by the terrorist attack, adding that the terrorists “were shooting everywhere.”

The soldier continued, “We tried hard to repel the attacks, and after more than three hours of gunfire exchange, they overwhelmed us, and our commander, a major, was killed.”

On the other hand, the army announced that its ongoing operations last week led to the deaths of 76 Boko Haram and ISIS militants, confirming that the operations will continue until both organizations are eradicated.

Army spokesman General Edward Buba explained that 24 militants were killed during military operations in the areas of Damboa, Bama, and Chibok between January 7-13.

He added that the army arrested 72 suspects and rescued 8 hostages during these operations, seizing weapons and ammunition, including AK-47 rifles, hand grenades, RPG shells, and explosive devices.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, General Christopher Musa, gave a televised interview in which he discussed the reasons behind the delayed defeat of the Boko Haram insurgency, which has lasted for more than 14 years. He attributed it to many factors, most notably “external funding.”

In the interview, widely reported by local media, the general said, “The continuation of the battle against Boko Haram is due to several complex factors, especially the nature of the conflict, where an extremist ideology is fighting, not countries, which makes its defeat extremely difficult.”

General Musa confirmed that “Boko Haram” benefits from external funding, as well as from kidnapping ransoms and armed robberies, and he pointed to the possibility of receiving “external support from countries seeking to destabilize Nigeria.”

He concluded by emphasizing that “the conflict with Boko Haram is not just a military battle; it is an ideological and security challenge that requires complex strategies to deal with the nature of these groups.”