No fewer than seven newly recruited Nigerian soldiers were, Thursday night, killed in a shot out with the Boko Haram sect members in northern Borno.
Twenty others were injured in the gun battle which occurred along the Maiduguri-Dikwa road in the North-Eastern State, military insiders sources said.
Three other soldiers were declared missing after the incident, our sources said.
Witnesses said the battle began at about 7:30 p.m. on Thursday after a detachment of troops, put at over 200 soldiers, ran into a Boko Haram ambush as they travelled through the area in army trucks and buses owned by the Borno State Government.
Our sources said the terrorists suddenly emerged in huge numbers from surrounding bushes and opened fire on the travelling troops, most of whom are said to be young soldiers fresh from training. The soldiers are said to be members of 76 Regular Recruit Intake.
The terrorists were said to be in a “surprisingly large number and armed with sophisticated weapons” and did a lot of damage before the soldiers could alight from their buses to fight back.
After the soldiers emerged from their vehicles, a prolonged fire-fight ensued, with seven of them falling in battle, and 20 others suffering varying degrees of injuries.
The army then sent reinforcement to the scene, but by the time those soldiers arrived, the Boko terrorists had fled into surrounding bushes and villages, making away with a gun truck, a mine detector, some AK 47 rifles, explosives and other weapons.
When contacted on the incident on Friday, Army Spokesperson, Brigadier General Sani Usman, said he was yet to be briefed on the matter.
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