Six Nigerian soldiers were killed in a militant assault on a military base in the northeastern state of Borno, military officials confirmed on Monday.
The attack, which took place early Sunday morning, saw insurgents armed with firearms, traveling in trucks and on motorcycles, target the Sabon Gari base in the Damboa district. According to anonymous sources within the military, the militants set fire to both the base and several vehicles, launching an intense firefight with the stationed troops.
“We lost six soldiers during the militant attack after a prolonged gun battle,” one of the officials said. The troops were eventually forced to withdraw as the insurgents pressed their attack.
In response, Nigerian fighter jets stationed in Maiduguri, approximately 100 kilometers away, launched air strikes targeting the fleeing insurgents. The second official confirmed that the airstrikes resulted in multiple militant casualties, as well as the destruction of vehicles and weapons used by the attackers. However, the exact number of insurgent casualties remains unclear.
The attack is part of the ongoing insurgency that has plagued northern Nigeria since 2009, with groups such as Boko Haram and its splinter factions, as well as other criminal groups, destabilizing the region. The conflict has claimed over 40,000 lives and displaced nearly two million people in the northeast.
This recent raid comes on the heels of a similar assault in November 2024, when five Nigerian soldiers were killed and ten others wounded in a militant attack on a base in Kareto village near the Niger border.
The violence continues to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the region, as Nigeria grapples with the persistent insurgency and its devastating impact on both military personnel and civilians alike.