Boko Haram Attacks Borno Military Base, Kills Commanding Officer

Boko Haram Attacks Borno Military Base, Kills Commanding Officer

Suspected fighters of Boko Haram have attacked and overrun a military base in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing the commanding officer and several soldiers in the early hours of Monday.

Sources in the area said the insurgents launched the assault around 12:30 a.m., storming the community from multiple directions before targeting the military facility.

A resident of the town said the heavily armed attackers moved into the area under the cover of darkness and quickly engaged troops stationed at the base.

“They stormed the town from different directions and launched an attack on the military camp,” the source said.

Another security source disclosed that the insurgents succeeded in dislodging the troops from the base during the attack.

According to the source, the attackers set several military vehicles ablaze and made away with weapons and ammunition from the facility.

“I cannot say much about the casualties, but it’s very sad that we also lost the commanding officer here,” the source said.

The latest attack comes barely a month after insurgents attempted to raid the same military base but were repelled by troops who reportedly killed several of the attackers.

Following that earlier incident, the commanding officer and his troops were widely praised by residents of the community and on social media for successfully defending the town.

The lawmaker representing Kukawa in the Borno State House of Assembly, Karta Maina Ma’aji Lawan, had also visited and commended the soldiers at the time.

Reacting to the latest development, the lawmaker expressed sadness over the attack, noting that the military base had now been overrun by the insurgents.

The incident comes amid a renewed wave of attacks by insurgents in parts of Borno State.

Recently, terrorists also struck a military base and an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Ngoshe town in Gwoza Local Government Area, where an unspecified number of soldiers and civilians were reportedly killed.