Two Nigerian military bases are attacked by Islamist militants, according to security sources

Suspected Islamist rebels carried out coordinated strikes on two military bases in northeastern Borno State, killing at least four Nigerian troops, security officials said Reuters.

Fighters from Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have mostly operated in northeastern Nigeria, where they have attacked civilians and security personnel, killing and uprooting tens of thousands of people.

At around 2100 GMT on Monday, Boko Haram rebels and ISWAP members launched the most recent attack, burning military hardware at an army base in Borno State’s Wajiroko region.

At least four soldiers had been killed and numerous more, including the brigade commander, were injured, according to a soldier in the Wajiroko brigade who spoke on the phone.

A different army formation in the Cameroonian border town of Wulgo was attacked by insurgents at about the same time. There are no confirmed casualties from that attack.

Attempts to reach a Nigerian army spokeswoman were not answered.

An army “forward operation base” was overrun by militants during the Wajiroko raid, according to Makinta Modu, a member of the local militia who was enlisted to aid the army.

“Around 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) air force fighter jets came for reinforcement … and killed many of the ISWAP fighters that captured the military base,” Modu stated. It was unclear if the army had taken back control of the base.

Boko Haram and ISWAP have increased their attacks on military and civilian targets in Borno since the beginning of the year, despite being undermined by years of internal conflict and military assaults.

While abduction and banditry are rife in the northwest and gang and separatist violence is prevalent in the southeast, the northeast of Africa’s most populous country has been afflicted by an Islamist insurgency for over ten years.