A military base in Sabon Gari, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, has come under attack by Boko Haram insurgents, resulting in the feared death of at least one soldier. Hobnob News reports on the latest incident in the ongoing conflict.
Usman Tar, the Borno State Commissioner of Information and Internal Security, confirmed the attack, stating that one officer was killed and another sustained injuries.
According to local sources, the insurgents launched a fierce assault on the military formation on Monday evening, firing indiscriminately and inflicting casualties on the troops. Abba Usman, a resident of Damboa, reported that military reinforcements rushing to the scene were caught in a landmine explosion, resulting in further injuries and potential fatalities.
“I do not have much information, but I can confirm that there was an attack and soldiers were killed. Here, we also heard about how soldiers rushing to the base for reinforcement stepped on something like a bomb and it exploded,” Usman said.
A military source, while confirming the attack, declined to disclose the exact number of soldiers killed. “There was an attack, many soldiers were killed, but the figure is currently not known,” the source stated.
Efforts to obtain official comment from the Spokesperson of Operation Hadin Kai, Lt. Colonel A. Y. Jingina, were initially unsuccessful. However, Commissioner Tar later clarified that the incident involved an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) rather than a direct attack.
“I can confirm, there was an IED attack in a place called Wajiroko (under Damboa). What happened is that our military personnel stepped on an IED. We lost one and one sustained injury. It was not an attack, it was an IED our soldiers stepped on,” Tar stated.
The discrepancy in initial reports and the Commissioner’s clarification highlights the challenges in accurately reporting events in conflict zones. The incident underscores the ongoing security threats faced by military personnel in the region. Hobnob News will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.
