Soldiers Feared Dead in Borno Military Post Attack

Author: Gist Correspondent

Several soldiers are feared dead following an attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists on a military post in Mairari community, Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State.

The attack reportedly occurred around midnight on Tuesday, October 13, and lasted more than two hours, according to local sources.

Chairman of Guzamala LGA, Umar Sheriff, confirmed the incident on Wednesday, saying the assailants specifically targeted the military formation.

Sheriff said casualty figures were yet to be established but confirmed that no civilian was killed in the attack.

“The incident occurred last night around 12 am. Though I don’t have statistics regarding the casualties yet, because it’s not everything we are told. It’s a security matter. But I know that no civilian was killed,” he said.

He described the attack as unusually severe for the area in recent times, adding that troops had successfully repelled the assailants.

“They have never attacked as much as this time, but thank God, the military were able to repel them,” Sheriff was quoted as saying.

He said the situation had returned to calm and disclosed plans to visit the community on Thursday to assess the impact of the attack.

Meanwhile, local sources alleged that both the military and the attackers suffered casualties, although the figures remained unverified.

One source said there were reports that seven soldiers had been killed but stressed that the information could not be independently confirmed.

Another source said the prolonged gunfire had thrown the community into tension, expressing the belief that the attackers also suffered casualties during the confrontation.

Efforts to obtain comments from the Acting Military Information Officer of the North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Mohammed Goni, were reportedly unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

The military had yet to officially confirm the reported casualties.