This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
At least six Nigerian soldiers and a civilian militia leader have been killed in a series of jihadist attacks on three towns in the northeastern state of Borno.
According to security sources and residents, the attacks occurred on Thursday, September 12, 2019, in the towns of Gubio, Gajiganna, and Gajiram.
The suspected fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), affiliated with the so-called Islamic State group, stormed into Gubio aboard a dozen pickup trucks mounted with machine guns, said local resident Idrissa Kaka.
The jihadists unleashed a battle with security forces, resulting in the deaths of six soldiers and the local head of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), who were found outside the town with bullet wounds, a security source said.
The attackers also made off with three military vehicles and a van belonging to the CJTF, leaving the whereabouts of the remaining soldiers unknown.
"The fear is that they were captured along with the vehicles," said Idrissa Kaka.
The decade-long jihadist insurgency in northeast Nigeria has claimed more than 35,000 lives and left over two million people displaced from their homes.
