The Nigerian Army has confirmed that Boko Haram insurgents ambushed and killed some troops in the Damboa area of Borno State.
Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, in a chat with Punch, revealed that the insurgents escaped into the bush after the attack.
A civilian was also shot dead, while two others were injured.
Irabor said: “There was an incident like that on Saturday. There was a military convoy passing and the Boko Haram came out in an ambush. One civilian was killed and two others injured. The Boko Haram members incidentally ran away. There was no death on the part of the Boko Haram insurgents.
“The insurgents only wanted to disturb the peace and we lost a civilian. If you are in touch with happenings here, you will know that ambushes are not a big deal; two or three terrorists may set up an ambush.
“It was not true that the terrorists took away military vehicles. You cannot have a military convoy in procession and then an ambush, and vehicles will be taken away. We resisted them and they fled into the bush.”
A source added that the corpses of two soldiers killed during the incident, have been deposited at the Maiduguri Teaching Hospital morgue.
“The troops were following some commercial vehicles from Maiduguri to Damboa area, when the Boko Haram attacked them. About eight persons were killed, while the terrorists also injured two soldiers, who later died.
“They hijacked two of the commercial buses and fled toward the Sambisa area”, he said.
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