Five Soldiers Killed By Suicide Bomber In Borno Attack
A suicide car bomber has rammed into a military convoy in the Timbuktu triangle in Borno State, killing five soldiers and injuring unspecified number of troops.
Security sources confirmed to Daily Trust that two senior military officers – a major and a lieutenant – were affected.
“The attack also caused significant damage to military equipment used for offensive and defensive operations in the weeks-long clearance operations,” one of the soldiers said.
He said the terrorists drove cars that were loaded with explosives and rammed into their military convoy.
The troops were returning from a clearance operation that successfully dislodged several insurgents’ camps and killed many of them when the attack occurred on Wednesday.
“You know, every operation did come with setbacks, but we overcame it. Unfortunately, we lost five soldiers in the incident. Manga (the Commander) is hale and hearty, and the operation continues, thank you,” an officer who preferred to be anonymous said.
He said that armoured and logistics vehicles were destroyed when the explosives-laden van breached the convoy.
Reports also gathered that the corpses and some injured soldiers have been flown to Maiduguri for medical attention.
The Timbuktu triangle is the area where the terrorists ambushed the convoy of Brigadier General Musa Uba, captured and executed him.
Confirming the incident, Troops of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) said the bomber breached the defensive position, affecting some logistics platforms.
According to the spokesman of the operation, Lt-Col Uba Sani, some soldiers and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force paid the supreme price, while others sustained injuries.
He, however, said that troops discovered mass graves containing an estimated 20 terrorist bodies killed during encounters with troops, and buried by their cohorts.
“This discovery exposes the scale of terrorist casualties and further discredits terrorist propaganda narratives,” he said.
