Militants affiliated with the Islamic State group killed dozens of individuals, including Nigerian military personnel, during an overnight attack in Sabon Gari, Borno State, local sources reported on Thursday. This latest assault underscores the continuing instability in Nigeria's northeast, the epicenter of an Islamist insurgency that has claimed over 40,000 lives since 2009.
The death toll reportedly runs into the dozens, according to Ibrahim Liman, a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force militia supporting the Nigerian military. Liman stated that numerous soldiers remain missing following the confrontation, indicating a significant security breach in the remote area.
Reports from local sources confirm that twenty bodies, comprising five soldiers, fifteen construction workers, and local hunters, were transported to the general hospital in the nearby town of Biu. Nurses and local hunters' group secretaries in Biu corroborated the recovery of the wounded and deceased from Sabon Gari.
The victims were reportedly engaged in rebuilding a road bridge that had been destroyed in a previous jihadist attack last year. They were ambushed while returning to their base camp late Wednesday or early Thursday morning.
This event follows a separate security incident earlier in the week, where military and militia sources confirmed that at least nine Nigerian soldiers were killed in an Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) ambush near Damasak, close to the Niger border. Such engagements illustrate the high operational tempo of the militant groups.
ISWAP emerged as a distinct faction following a split from Boko Haram in 2016. While the group primarily focuses its attacks on Nigerian security forces, the recurring violence inevitably draws in and endangers civilian populations in the affected areas.
The sustained violence in Borno State continues to generate significant internal displacement, with nearly two million people forced from their homes since the conflict began. International partners have indicated a commitment to increasing coordination with Nigerian forces to counter these threats.
