A military base in northeast Nigeria’s Borno has been reportedly captured by Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State militant group.
AFP reported that machine-gun wielding fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the base in the town of Marte in the Lake Chad area overnight Friday into Saturday.
The raid was seen as a “fightback” after they were recently repelled by the troops of Nigerian army.
“The priority now is to reclaim the base from the terrorists and an operation is underway,” one of the sources said.
“We took a hit from ISWAP terrorists. They raided the base in Marte after a fierce battle.”
Another source said the army “incurred losses” but it was not yet clear how many people had died or the level of destruction inflicted by the insurgents.
ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, maintains camps on islands in Lake Chad — where Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet — and the area is known to be group’s bastion.
In November last year, officials began the phased return of residents to Marte six years after they were pushed out by the jihadists.
The town, 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the regional capital Maiduguri, was once considered the breadbasket of the Lake Chad region.
The Jihadists are responsible for the death of thousands of people since 2009, spreading the violence into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
