Five Nigerian Soldiers have been reportedly killed by the breakaway faction of the Boko Haram backed by the Islamic State.

In a footage seen by The Guardian, as proof of the attack, but too gory for public viewing, two of the troops were on the Nigeria army camouflage while three others were clothed in red jumpsuits.

The jumpsuits are similar to those worn by western ISIS hostages (orange) and used by ISIS in Yemen (blue).

The ISWA faction largely focuses on attacking military and government targets, was led by Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, but last month, audio recordings revealed that ISIS appointed Abu Abdullah Idris bin Umar, also known as Ibn Umar al-Barnawi, as leader. ISIS has not yet made a public statement confirming the change.

The video opened with five sects standing behind the troops. The sects opened fire on the troops directly on their head after a brief Islamic recitation.

The Army, though, has not publicly commented on the incident.

Meanwhile, troops from the regional Multinational Joint Task Force killed 16 Boko Haram fighters including a commander, in the Lake Chad area of Nigeria’s Borno state, the MNJTF said in a release.

The MNJTF, which comprises troops from Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, launched Operation Yancin Tafki on February 21.

Over the weekend, troops deployed with Operation Yancin Tafki were conducting clearance operation in the Kerenoa – likely meaning Kirenowa – area when “contact was made with Boko Haram Terrorists at Andakar Camp,” Colonel Timothy Antigha, the MNJTF’s Chief of Military Public Information, said in the Sunday, March 31 release that included graphic images of dead bodies.

A firefight followed and 16 militants including Malloum Moussa, who Antigha described as “a high ranking Boko Haram Commander,” were “neutralized,” a term commonly used to mean killed by security forces.

Five technicals were destroyed and one woman “whose relationship with the terrorists is yet to be determined” was detained.

Antigha said Moussa had “jurisdiction” over the southern Lake Chad area including around Daban Masara, Kirta Wulgo and Koleram, and that he was “notorious for imposing hefty levies on farmers, fishermen and cattle herders.”

In February, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, vowed that the Nigerian military will break the unholy alliance between the Boko Haram terrorists and Islamic State West Africa or ISWA.

Buratai, a lieutenant-general, maintained that the army was making gains in the counter-insurgency operations in the North-east.

“I am glad to note that we are making strides against the Islamic State West Africa or ISWA in our bid to unhinge the unholy union between them and remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists,” he said.

•Sourced from The Guardian report

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