December 16, (THEWILL) — A suicide bomber, on Sunday, attacked a Nigerian military position in northeastern Borno State near the Cameroon border, killing at least five soldiers, security and local defence sources have said.
The attack occurred at Firgi, close to the town of Pulka, a volatile area near the Mandara Mountains, which straddle the Nigeria-Cameroon border and have long served as hideouts for Boko Haram and its splinter factions.
Local sources said the assailant targeted troops stationed in the area, detonating an improvised explosive device strapped to his body.
Umar Sa’idu, a member of a government-backed community militia, said he assisted in evacuating the wounded after the blast.
“I counted five bodies lying in blood at the back of my house”, Sa’idu told AFP, but added that medical personnel at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) later confirmed that all five soldiers brought in had died.
A local hunter, Bukar Aji, said the attacker approached the soldiers before detonating the explosive. He identified the bomber as a suspected Boko Haram member believed to have crossed from the Mandara Mountains.
The Nigerian military confirmed the attack but did not officially confirm fatalities.
The spokesman of Operation Hadin Kai, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, said troops engaged the attacker before the explosion.
“Our gallant soldiers shot the attacker when he attempted to carry out the bombing in their own position. Unfortunately, our gallant soldiers sustained varying degrees of injury and are currently receiving medical care”, Uba said.
Police authorities also confirmed the incident but declined to provide further details.
The attack comes amid renewed assaults on military formations in the Northeast, where insurgents have intensified raids on bases and security outposts in recent months. Although suicide bombings were once a defining tactic of Boko Haram at the height of the insurgency over a decade ago, such attacks have become less frequent in recent years following sustained military offensives.
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