Eight Nigerian soldiers were killed when their patrol vehicle struck a landmine near Gamboru in Borno State on Saturday, according to defence sources quoted by AFP.
The explosion happened in Kinuba village, about 25 kilometres from Gamboru, near the border with Cameroon. A militia member supervising roadside clearing was also injured by shrapnel, the report said.
The soldiers were inspecting members of a militia assisting the military who were clearing thickets along the highway when the vehicle hit the explosive, the sources said.
A military officer quoted by AFP said all eight soldiers aboard the vehicle died. Ibrahim Liman, a militia member assisting the military, gave the same death toll and said the device had been remotely detonated.
The sources blamed the attack on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). That attribution and the casualty account came from the sources quoted in the dispatch, rather than an army statement.
The attack happened on October 17, the day army chief Lieutenant General Waidi Shuaibu visited Maiduguri. NaijaTrend reported his arrival in the state capital here.
Sources: Daily Trust, Vanguard
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