A jihadist suicide attack have claimed the lives of about 27 Nigerian soldiers in the northeast, two Army sources told AFP on Sunday.
The troops on Friday launched a ground offensive on a stronghold of Islamic State-affiliated militants in a wasteland straddling Borno and Yobe States.
According to a military officer, “The suicide attack killed 27 soldiers, including the commander, and left several others seriously injured.”
He further explained that the attack is one of the deadliest suicide attacks targeting soldiers in recent years.
According to him, it was dark, making it difficult for the troops to have a clear view of the surroundings, saying that the incident happened around 2030 GMT.
He said the death toll could rise as some of the wounded were in a critical condition, stressing that a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle concealed in thick foliage into a convoy of advancing troops targeting the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Timbuktu Triangle.
ISWAP split from the mainstream Boko Haram in 2016 to become the dominant militant faction in the northeast.
They seized territory hitherto under Boko Haram control, including the Timbuktu Triangle and Sambisa forest, a game reserve turned jihadist stronghold.
The group is notorious for planting roadside mines and rigging vehicles with explosives to target troops.
In July last year, seven troops were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in a village where ISWAP is active.
The 15-year-old conflict has killed 40,000 and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast.
The violence spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, leading to the creation of a regional force to fight the militants.