[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he calamitous Boko Haram militants from the IS-supported faction loyal to Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi have attacked three military bases in the northeast, destroying one and killing a soldier, according to reports in the area.
In the latest attack late Tuesday, militants in pickup trucks raided and razed a military base in Kamuya village in Borno state.
Boko Haram “attacked the (military) base around 5:30 pm and the troops engaged them in battle,” a military source from the town of Biu told AFP.
“The base was burnt from RPG (rocket propelled grenade) shelling and two soldiers were injured,” said the military officer, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the incident.
The jihadists were later pushed back after military reinforcements arrived 30 kilometres (18 miles) away from Buni Yadi in neighbouring Yobe state, said the military source.
The officer’s account was corroborated by Mustapha Karimbe, a member of a local militia in Biu assisting the military in fighting Boko Haram.
“Boko Haram gunmen attacked Kamuya military barracks yesterday evening and burnt it down. They injured two soldiers,” said Karimbe.
In January jihadists from Al-Barnawi’s faction riding on camels killed at least three soldiers in a midnight raid on the same military base.
Earlier on Monday fighters said to be loyal to Al-Barnawi separately attacked two military bases in which at least three fighters and a soldier were killed, the Nigerian military said in a statement.
“Boko Haram terrorists of Mamman Nur extraction” attacked 81 Division Task Force Battalion in Gulumba Gana village of Bama district in the country’s northeast, said the military.
Troops repelled the attack and recovered arms and explosives from the fleeing jihadists, it said.
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