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Seven Nigerian soldiers lost their lives in a weekend ambush by suspected Lakurawa terrorists near the Niger border after their vehicle developed a mechanical fault, military and local sources have confirmed.
The attack occurred late Saturday as troops were returning from a raid on a Lakurawa camp outside Illela town in Sokoto state, according to two local sources who spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba confirmed the incident but declined to provide a specific death toll.
“We incurred regrettable casualties over the weekend around Illela,” Osoba told AFP.
He said reinforcements had been deployed to the area and that operations were ongoing to “track and neutralise the terrorists responsible.”
The troops were travelling in a three-vehicle convoy when one vehicle broke down, forcing it to stop while the other two continued ahead, a resident said.
The stranded soldiers were carrying out repairs when the terrorists struck. Seven troops, including a lieutenant, were killed, the resident added. One soldier managed to escape.
The bodies were later recovered and brought to Illela.
Lakurawa, a group with links to Sahelian jihadist networks, first established a foothold in Kebbi and Sokoto states in 2018 and has grown increasingly active since 2023.
The United States carried out missile strikes against the Lakurawa camps in Sokoto’s Tangaza district last December in coordination with Nigerian authorities.
The ambush on Saturday took place on the same day that the US and Nigeria declared that they had killed deputy Islamic State leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki in coordinated airstrikes on his hideout in Lake Chad.
A Nigerian intelligence source told AFP that Al-Minuki, a Nigerian, was tracked using his satellite phone to the isolated village of Metele close to the Niger border.
