At least 20 Nigerian soldiers killed in attack on remote army base

Apparently, at least 20 Nigerian soldiers have been killed in a suspected attack by ISIL affiliates in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

A surviving soldier claimed the attack lasted more than three hours and that the attackers had taken aim at an army base in the remote Malam-Fatori town in northeastern Borno state on Friday.

In Borno, Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters have attacked both civilians and security forces, killing and displaced tens of thousands of people.

A commanding officer was among those killed when ISWAP members attacked the 149th Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Malam-Fatori, the border with Niger, according to a Reuters news agency citing security sources and residents.

“They rained bullets everywhere”, one of the surviving soldiers told Reuters by phone, adding that the troops were taken by surprise.

The soldier said, “We tried so hard to stop the attacks, but they overpowered us, killing our commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel,” and he declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said 20 soldiers died while several were injured.

Some of the attackers were spotted in Malam-Fatori on Saturday night, according to residents of the town who left.

Some residents of the town were forced to flee the town by the fighters, according to Malakaka Bukar, a member of the local militia that was hired to assist the army.

“They preached to some of the residents”, said Bukar.

In northeastern Nigeria, ISWAP became the most powerful armed group after breaking away from the popular Boko Haram in 2016.

Since the start of the year, Boko Haram and ISWAP have increased attacks in Borno, killing dozens of farmers and fishermen in a series of raids, despite having been weakened by military assaults and internal fighting.

The 15-year-old conflict has killed nearly 40, 000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast.