Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which split from Nigeria-based Boko Haram in 2016, has carried out a series of attacks in the last few months.
In its newspaper Al-Nabaa, IS said its fighters killed a number of African coalition soldiers in attacks on a military barracks, a military post and a town in northeastern Borno state and the Lake Chad region.
It said its fighters detonated explosives on Saturday on a tank of the African alliance near the town of Tomer in Niger, killing all soldiers on board. ISIS did not specify the number killed.
The militants said over the past week troops from Nigerian and Cameroon were either killed or injured, without providing details.
But the Nigerian Army on Thursday in a press release signed by Colonel Ezindu Idimah, who is the Deputy Director Army Public Relations, Sector 3 Operation LAFIYA DOLE confirmed that the troops of Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) Sector 2 (Chad) and Sector 3 (Nigeria) while on clearance operation in consonance with operation YANCIN TAFKI on Tuesday 16 April 2019 have neutralized 39 members of Boko Haram Terrorists in Cross Kauwa village in the Lake Chad Region.
He also stated that during the encounter, 20 soldiers were wounded and have been evacuated for medical treatment.
ISWAP Gun Trucks, Anti Aircraft Guns, AK47 Rifles, HK21 Rifle and Rocket Propelled Guns were recovered. He said.
Similarly, the army has debunked many of the ISWAP claimed attacks against the Nigerian Army and Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad countries and Benin Republic as very strange and completely untrue.
Insecurity threat has been one of the major challenges faced by Nigeria and neighbouring countries of Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
Boko Haram has waged a decade-long insurgency in northeast Nigeria which has killed more than 27,000 people and forced about 2 million to leave their homes.
No comments