A landmine exploded under a Nigerian military vehicle killing seven soldiers in a northeastern area where Islamic State-affiliated jihadists are active, anti-jihadist militia said Friday.

The soldiers were heading for Kukawa early Thursday when their vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device, two militia sources said.

“All the seven soldiers in the van died in the explosion at Bawarti village,” anti-jihadist militia leader Babakura Kolo said. The incident was confirmed by another militia official, Ibrahim Liman.

Both sources blamed Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the dominant jihadist faction in the Lake Chad area.

Nigerian forces have been locked in a fight against an insurgency in the region for more than a decade. About 40,00 people have been killed and two million people displaced from their homes in northeast Nigeria.

The intensity of the conflict has waned in recent months, but ISWAP and its rival Boko Haram still launch sporadic ambushes on convoys. (Text, excluding headline: AFP)