According to military officials and villagers, Boko Haram fighters killed at least 50 Nigerian soldiers in an ambush near the village of Goneri in northern Yobe state.
In the nation’s capital city, John Enenche the defence ministry spokesman said that the Nigerian military suffered some casualties in the attack. Enenche however did not disclose the exact number of casualties, but local witnesses placed the death toll at between 50 and 75 people.
The ambush occurred near the town of Goneri in eastern Borno State on Monday, according to Enenche.
“After the attack they called in the air force and raided the position of the fighters and succeeded in killing all of them – although the military here did not give the actual number of Boko Haram fighters that were killed”.
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The attack, one of the deadliest against troops recently, came as the military tried to launch an offensive against the armed group that began over the weekend. The troops were able to fight back and escape from the ambush on Saturday, he said. At a place called “the Gorge”, the soldiers were attacked from the rear when they advanced.
A military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Boko Haram fighters inflicted heavy casualties by firing on the vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades and assault weapons. Those who survived are being treated at hospitals in Damaturu and Maiduguri.
A senior army officer also confirmed the attack, saying he lost a friend and calling it a huge setback for Nigeria’s army.
According to data from the United Nations Boko Haram’s decade-long armed campaign has so far killed 36,000 people and displaced nearly two million in north-eastern Nigeria.
