Nigeria’s Boko Haram Militants Ambush Troops; 19 Wounded and few missing

Nigeria Military in action

At least 19 Nigerian soldiers and three civilians were injured in an ambush by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in a village called Nguro Gongon in the country’s northeast, the army said.

The soldiers fought back and killed “several” of the insurgents, acting spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usman said late Thursday in an e-mailed statement. 

Special forces have been dispatched to locate “a few” troops missing in action in a community in Borno State, some of whom, as at the time of filing this report, have started returning to their defensive location.

“It is pertinent to state that, no stone would be left unturned until every person involved in the operation has been accounted for,” he said.

Sani said the injured soldiers have been evacuated to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, he did not mention how many soldiers were missing.

“This morning, troops on clearance patrol at Guro Gongon village and environs to rout out remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hibernating therein, destroyed the terrorists’ makeshift camps and recovered quite a number of weapons, equipment and foodstuff in the process,” Mr. Usman, a colonel and acting director of army public relations, said.

“The recovered items include 1 Gun truck mounted with an Anti-Aircraft Gun, a MOWAG Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), 1 Rocket Propelled Grenade Tube, 1 Light Machine Gun, 3 AK-47 rifles and motorcycles.