Suspected jihadists raid Nigeria military base, town

Suspected Boko Haram jihadists have overrun a military base and looted a nearby town in northeast Nigeria, security sources and residents said Tuesday, the latest such attack in the restive region.

The raids came a day after 30 people were killed on Sunday in a triple suicide bombing in the region that also bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram.
Boko Haram’s decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced about two million in Nigeria.

Late on Monday assailants, arriving on nine armoured trucks stormed into the military base outside the town of Gajiram, 80 kilometres (50 miles), north of the Borno state capital Maiduguri.

They were suspected to be from IS-affiliated Boko Haram faction known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

“They dislodged troops from the base after a fight,” a security source told AFP.

“We don’t know the extent of damage and looting in the base. An assessment is being carried out”.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

Residents said the Islamists drove into the town after sacking the base and looted shops, shooting into the air.