A new war strategy recently launched by the Nigerian Army has spurred troops to foil an attempt by fighters of the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) to occupy Gubio Local Government Area (LGA) in Borno State.
Eight people, including three soldiers, were said to have been killed in jihadist attacks on an army base and village in the state.
The army engaged the insurgents in a fierce seven-hour battle that forced many of the insurgents to flee.
This is coming as fighter jets of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) pounded more terrorist locations in Izza on the fringes of Sambisa Forest, killing scores of insurgents.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai, had recently charged war commanders in the North-east to embrace a new war strategy called “super camp” which he said would serve as a launching pad for mobile offensive operations against terrorist group, Boko Haram and the ISWAP.
Eyewitness accounts and some residents of the community said the firefight lasted for seven hours, between 6p.m. and 1a.m., before the insurgents were dislodged.
Also, 19 people, comprising eight soldiers and 11 terrorists, were said to have been killed in jihadist attacks on an army base and village in the state.
Three soldiers and three civilians died on Saturday when fighters from the IS-aligned ISWAP group attacked a base in Gubio, a town 80 kilometres from the state capital, Maiduguri.
Two soldiers and six civilians were injured. The jihadists attacked the base in eight pickup trucks fitted with machine guns, leading to a long battle.
The attack was repelled with the aid of a fighter jet, which deployed two hours into the clashes.
Eleven of the insurgents were killed and three of their vehicles were seized.
