Several soldiers were killed in a suicide car bomb attack during a military operation against ISIS positions in the Timbuktu Triangle area of Borno State, a longstanding terrorist stronghold in northeastern Nigeria.
The military said soldiers clashed with fleeing terrorists during an offensive to flush out insurgents in the Borno State.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Lt Col Sani Uba said in a statement on Wednesday that army troops had cleared several terrorist strongholds in the Timbuktu Triangle, including Tergejeri, Chiralia, and the Ajigin/Abirma general areas.
He said several soldiers were killed after they engaged with fleeing terrorist elements in a heavy gun battle.
“On Tuesday, while the soldiers gathered at an area approximately 6 km North of Chilaria, they neutralized one explosive‑laden vehicle but a second breached defensive positions, killing several soldiers and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force and injuring others,” Uba said in the statement.
He added that during the operation, his troops found the bodies of 20 terrorists in a mass grave in Timbuktu Triangle in Borno.
“The mass grave highlights the scale of losses suffered by terrorists,” Uba said.
In a separate development, five soldiers and one police officer have been killed in an ambush in northwest Nigeria, the Nigerian army said on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in Zamfara state on Monday, army spokesman David Adewusi said in a statement.
“Despite the surprise of the ambush, the troops responded gallantly, engaging the terrorists and preventing further harm to nearby communities,” he said. “Regrettably, five soldiers and one police officer paid the supreme sacrifice during the encounter.”
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with a population exceeding 250 million, is the continent’s largest oil producer and a key OPEC member.
The Timbuktu Triangle, a vast and difficult‑to‑access area spanning parts of Borno State, has for more than a decade served as a base for Boko Haram fighters launching coordinated attacks on military positions and civilian communities.
Boko Haram, an extremist group that emerged in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions across Nigeria and neighboring countries.
Despite repeated military offensives, Boko Haram and its splinter groups have continued to mount large‑scale attacks, exploiting difficult terrain, porous regional borders and a limited state presence in parts of the arid northeast.
