By Ahmed Kingimi
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, April 13 (Reuters) – Islamist militants riding motorbikes stormed an army base near Nigeria’s northeastern border with Chad, killing the commander and six other soldiers late on Sunday, two military sources said.
The assault was by members of Boko Haram and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province, the sources told Reuters, and came days after a string of coordinated attacks nL8N40S1BQ on military positions in other parts of Borno State.
Insurgents have ramped up attacks nL1N3ZX0VD on overstretched bases and looted weapons across the region, piling pressure on the government and President Bola Tinubu who has vowed to end years of violence.
Those killed late on Sunday included the base commander who was weeks from retirement and six other soldiers whose vehicle struck an improvised mine while heading to reinforce troops during the attack, the sources said.
At least 12 militants were killed in a gunfight during the attack on the 242 Battalion barracks in Monguno, the sources added, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Militants have waged a 17-year insurgency seeking to carve out an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, killing thousands and displacing at least 2 million people, aid groups say, despite major military campaigns.
(Additional reporting by Adewale Kolawole in Maiduguri; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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