Four civilians and three soldiers have been killed in attacks in northeastern Nigeria blamed on militant fighters, local residents and militias said yesterday.
Gunmen suspected of belonging to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group raided a military post in the town of Gajiganna in Borno State late Friday, triggering a gunbattle.
“The gunmen killed two soldiers and a civilian during the fight and took away one military vehicle,” said Babakura Kolo, a member of a militia fighting the militants.
Earlier in the day, the militants attacked troops in the nearby village of Tungushe, killing a soldier and three residents, Kolo said.
Gajiganna and Tungushe have been repeatedly attacked by hardline fighters.
The violence came a day after two Chadian troops were killed in clashes between militants and members of a regional force in northeastern Nigeria.
ISWAP — a faction of Boko Haram that broke away in 2016 — has intensified ambushes against troops in the past two months.
The decade-long conflict has killed 35,000 people and displaced around 2mn from their homes in northeast Nigeria.
The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight the insurgents.
Relatives attend a prayer in homage to the victims yesterday, after gunmen suspected of belonging to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group raided the village of Tungushe, killing a soldier and three residents.
