Five Nigerian soldiers have been reported dead after the vehicle they were in drove over a land suspected to have been planted by the Islamic State group-aligned jihadists.
According to security sources, the unit was on patrol on Monday in Laavi village near northeastern town of Damasak near the Niger boarder.
The soldiers set off an improvised explosive device suspected to have been planted by the Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) group, militia leader Babakura Kolo said.
The explosion “killed all five troops on board”, he said.
The army spokesperson is yet to make a statement on the happening, as the jihadists had the previous night attacked the village, kidnapping the chief and three others.
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A second militia leader, Ibrahim Liman, gave the same account and death toll as Kolo.
The militiamen, who fight alongside the military, were not present during the incident but said they were briefed on the matter.
Last month three soldiers were killed, and four others injured along with seven civilians in a mine explosion targeting a military truck outside the town of Banki near the border with Cameroon.
The region has been assigned to soldiers in camp, but still larger parts comprising villages are still unprotected.
The Jihadist group ISWAP, detached from Boko Haram in 2016, and has been terrorizing the region since then.