On Friday, coordinated terrorist strikes across multiple military formations in Borno State resulted in the deaths of at least 12 to 15 soldiers, including two high-ranking officers.
Sources told BusinessDay that the assaults targeted four separate military bases in Konduga, Mainok, Jakana, and Marte between late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
A top security source detailed the heavy losses sustained during the multi-pronged offensive, stating:“We lost about 15 soldiers, including two officers, yesterday (Friday) during coordinated attacks on our formations in Borno State.”
The violence included a lethal ambush in the Sambisa Forest, where one officer and eight soldiers were killed.
Simultaneously, terrorists overran the 222 Battalion base in Konduga, killing the commanding officer, Lt Col SI Illiyasu, along with several of his men, before burning the facility to the ground.
According to military sources, the insurgents arrived in massive, “difficult to ascertain” numbers and unleashed sporadic gunfire that caused high casualties.
During the raids, the gunmen set fire to armored tanks and military vehicles, looted an “unquantifiable” amount of ammunition, attacked four bases—Konduga, Mainok, Jakana, and Marte—between “10 pm on Thursday night and 3 am on Friday.”
Uba Sani, the Spokesperson for Operation Hadin Kai, confirmed that troops managed to neutralize scores of the attackers while attempting to repel the incursions.
However, he acknowledged the grim reality of the current security landscape:“Several attacks on military bases in Operation Hadin Kai by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists… the attacks on military bases keep increasing daily within the North East operation.”
The military confirmed that while the 222 Battalion base was completely destroyed, efforts remain ongoing to secure the affected areas of Konduga and Marte.
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