Boko Haram sack two army bases in Borno State killing battalion commander and carting away weapons

SEVEN soldiers including a battalion commander have been reported missing after Boko Haram sacked two Nigerian Army bases in Borno State carting away combat equipment in a raid that is believed to have left one troop dead.

Over the weekend, the terrorists attacked troops of the 192 Battalion deployed to Delwa Village, along Maiduguri-Damboa Road in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State. While this was going on, another group attacked the 242 Battalion based in Marte Local Government Area close to Lake Chad in what appeared to be coordinated assaults.

Saturday’s incidents followed an earlier attack, on May 22 on an army base in Gubio Local Government Area of Borno State that was home to the Fifth Brigade and the 159 Task Force Battalion, which left at least one soldier killed and three others injured. On Saturday, the terrorists who attacked the 192 Battalion  launched their assault from Alagarno Forest in four armoured personnel carriers and 12 gun trucks.

Although the troops were initially dislodged, reinforcement from Maiduguri, about 30km away, helped them retake the base after the terrorists had withdrawn. However, despite retaking the base, one soldier was killed, while six others were reported missing.

During the attack on Delwa, the terrorists burnt a T55 armoured tank, made away with two gun trucks, one canter truck, one armoured personnel carrier, a mortal gun and unquantifiable amounts of ammunition. Meanwhile, the other attack on the 242 battalion in Marte completely dislodged the troops, who fled, with about 15 of them showing up in Dikwa, the brigade headquarters on Sunday.

As of now, the commanding officer of the battalion and many soldiers are still missing with no comments on their whereabouts from Nigerian Army headquarters. Last week, chief of army staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai declared that Boko Haram had been defeated but these latest attacks prove it is still functional.