18 SOLDIERS KILLED, SIX WOUNDED IN BOKO HARAM RAID OF NIGERIAN MILITARY BASE

At least 18 Nigerian troops have been killed and six others wounded after Boko Haram insurgents sacked a forward operating base in Borno State, military sources said Wednesday.

The attack occurred at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday, military sources said, but the scale of personnel and equipment casualties was still being clarified as of Wednesday afternoon.

Four different brands of armoured personnel carriers and other heavy military hardware were carted away when the insurgents overran the base in Gajiram, Nganzai Local Government Area.

Military sources feared the entire base had been taken over by the insurgents, whose campaign against military asset has intensified in recent weeks.

The Nigerian Army has not issued a statement about the attack, and a spokesperson did not return calls for comments Wednesday afternoon.

PREMIUM TIMES, however, learnt that reinforcements from Sector 3 of the Operation Lafiya Dole based in Monguno had proceeded to the area.

The losses have added to the mounting toll of Nigerian troops in the 10-year-long terror. At least four military bases had come under attack within the past week, with each recording several deaths of soldiers.

Two commanders, both lieutenant colonels, have also lost their lives defending Boko Haram aggression on the frontlines in the last one month.

The attacks also continued despite government announcements that the war was on its last legs.

On Tuesday, Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, blamed soldiers allowing the war to linger, castigating them as cowards and promising not to promote them unless they displayed exemplary traits of dedication to the war.