More than 20 Nigerian Soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice when their unit ran into a Boko Haram ambush in Borno State.
According to a report by theCable, the gallant soldiers belonged to the 25 task force brigade in Damboa, Borno state. They were reportedly attacked along the Maiduguri-Damboa road after a successful clearance operation against the terrorists which lasted for five days.
Asides from the killed soldiers, scores of others are also said to be unaccounted for.
According to a source within the Nigerian Army,
“At the last count, we had more than 20 soldiers who lost their livers in that unfortunate ambush. They had been on the operation for five days, and they were just 25 kilometres to reach the brigade headquarters when they ran into the ambush. Some bodies of the slain soldiers have been recovered.”
The Nigerian Army however denied the casualties saying its personnel killed 17 of the Boko Haram terrorists while losing only two soldiers in the process.
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According to John Enenche, the coordinator of Defence media operation, the troops beat the ambush and pushed back the terrorists with the help of troops from sector 2.
The Army said in a statement;
“In the aftermath of the encounter, 17 Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province criminals were neutralized as several others were believed to have narrowly escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds while a cache of arms and ammunition were equally captured by the gallant troops.
“Regrettably, two valiant soldiers paid the supreme price while four others were wounded in action. However, the wounded in action soldiers have been evacuated to a military medical facility and currently responding positively to treatment.
Also in its denial of the casualties, the Nigerian Army handle on twitter posted pictures of one dead Boko haram terrorist, one burnt out vehicle and three assault rifles.