Suicide Bomber Kills Five Soldiers in Nigeria

A suicide bomber struck a military position in Northeastern Nigeria near the border with Cameroon, killing at least five soldiers, security and local defence sources stated.

The attacker targeted a military position in Firgi near Pulka, a remote town in Borno state, on Sunday, sources told AFP on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Umar Sa’idu, a member of a community government-sponsored militia group, who helped transport the victims to the hospital, said he counted five dead bodies behind his house.

Speaking to AFP, he stated: “After some hours, medical personnel at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) confirmed that all five victims we gave escort to had died.”

The Northeast military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, confirmed the attack but not the deaths. He added that the soldiers shot the attackers when he attempted to bomb their location.

“Our gallant soldiers shot the attacker when he attempted to carry out the bombing in their own position.

“Unfortunately, our gallant soldiers sustained varying degrees of injury and are currently receiving medical care.”

Sa’idu also added that the bomber was a suspected Boko Haram member thought to have come from the nearby Mandara Mountains.

Bukar Aji, a local hunter, also stated that the assailant approached the soldiers and detonated an explosive device strapped to his body.

Suicide bombings, once one of the defining tactics of Boko Haram during the height of the insurgency more than a decade ago, have become less frequent in recent years as the military has made inroads against the group

Pulka, located near the Mandara Mountains, is a rugged, lightly governed border region between Nigeria and Cameroon that has long provided a haven for jihadist militants linked to Boko Haram and its splinter groups.