By Ahmed Kingimi and Adewale Kolawole
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, April 9 (Reuters) – Islamist militant groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) launched coordinated overnight attacks on multiple locations in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, killing an army general and several other soldiers, military sources said on Thursday.
Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters said insurgents attacked a key military base in Benisheikh but were repelled, confirming soldiers were killed while urging the public to wait for formal notification of next of kin before further details.
Fighters attacked the towns of Pulka and Bakin Ruwa in Gwoza district at about 2130 GMT on Wednesday, before insurgents tried to overrun the headquarters of the 29 Task Force Brigade in Benisheikh at midnight, Defence Headquarters said.
“The troops led by the Commander 29 Brigade, Brigadier-General Oseni Braimah, responded with exceptional courage and superior firepower… and forced (the terrorists) to retreat in disarray,” Defence Headquarters spokesperson Major-General Michael Onoja said, adding that clearance operations were ongoing.
But two military sources told Reuters the Benisheikh base was overrun, killing Brigadier-General Braimah and other soldiers including a captain, and destroying several military vehicles. Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.
An officer involved in the Benisheikh reinforcements said air force aircraft evacuated the dead soldiers on Thursday morning after helping to drive out insurgents who had operated in the area for more than three hours. He said the death toll was still being tallied.
A 17-year Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria has killed thousands of people and displaced at least 2 million, according to aid groups, despite major military campaigns.
Boko Haram and ISWAP have intensified attacks on military positions in northeastern Nigeria this year, killing dozens of troops as they continue to exploit the region’s difficult terrain, porous borders, and weak state presence.
(Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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