At least four soldiers were killed, and unspecified numbers were wounded when fighters of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) attacked the military base in the Damboa Local government area of Borno State Sunday, a source said.

BusinessDay learnt that the terrorists rode on motorcycles to storm the remote village of Warja between Sabon Gari in Damboa local government area on Sunday evening, killing soldiers and setting ablaze military hardware.

According to a security source, the terrorists overran the entire formation and burnt down armour and other operations vehicles.

He said, ?It was a devastating attack on the base. We lost gallant soldiers. Unfortunately, the attackers set ablaze the entire base. After that, they looted and carted away our ammunition,? a security source said.

Another civilian JTF source told our Correspondent via phone that they came in large numbers and overpowered the personnel.

He added that some operational vehicles were burnt, including two armour tanks, Amour Personnel Carriers (APC), two utility vehicles and caches of ammunition.

Similarly, three Nigerian police officers have sustained injuries following a landmine explosion along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road in Borno State.

The IED was suspected to have been planted by ISWAP terrorists.

Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert focused on the Lake Chad region, disclosed this on Wednesday in a post on his X handle.

Makama said that intelligence sources disclosed that the incident occurred at about 3:00 pm near Garin Kuturu village, between Auno and Jakana, while a Rapid Response Squad (RRS) patrol team was on routine duty.

According to the report, the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated as the officers stepped on it, damaging their patrol vehicle and creating a crater measuring three feet deep and five feet wide.

?Bomb Disposal (EOD-CBRN) Team was deployed to cordon off the area and conduct a thorough sweep for secondary explosives, but none were found. The affected area was declared safe for road users,? Makama said. (BusinessDay)

Update news