Boko Haram Insurgency: Nine Soldiers Feared Dead in Fresh Ambush

At least 9 soldiers of the Nigerian Army have allegedly been killed as the result of a deadly ambush by suspected Boko Haram members, in the border areas of Izhe in Madagali Local Government of Adamawa state.

The soldiers were on a mission to repel a recent attack.

The Council Chairman of Madagali, Mr Maina Ularamu, confirmed the incident and losses of the armed forces, but could not ascertain the number of casualties.

“The soldiers were going to repel a planned attack at Izhe border village when they were ambushed by the heavily armed insurgents.

“As I am talking to you, most villagers at the border areas have since fled to Madagali the administrative headquarters for fear of possible attacks.

“We are calling on the government to station more troops with armoured tanks.

“These Boko Haram insurgents have more sophisticated weapons than the soldiers,” the Chairman said.

He also noted that the insurgents were well armed with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons mounted on their vehicles.

It was learnt that the troops battled the heavily armed insurgents, who attacked from different directions.

Unfortunately, the newsmen could not reach the Brigade Commander of the 23rd Armoured Brigade, Yola, Brigadier General Rogers Nicholas for comments. He was said to have gone on a special assignment. 

However, a top military source confirmed that few soldiers lost their lives in an encounter with suspected Boko Haram fighters on the border with Borno State.

“There was an encounter between our soldiers and the insurgents, we killed many of them and in the process we lost a few men,” the source said.

Hospital sources also confirmed that nine corpses of the fallen soldiers were deposited at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yola on Thursday.

A staff of the hospital anonymously told that nine corpses of soldiers, who were killed in Madagali, were delivered to the hospital’s mortuary.