Suicide bombing near Nigeria–Cameroon border kills at least five soldiers

A suicide attack on a Nigerian military position close to the Cameroon border has left at least five soldiers dead, according to security and local defence sources. The incident took place in a remote part of Borno state, an area long affected by insurgent violence.

The attacker struck a military position in Firgi, near the town of Pulka, on Sunday, sources told AFP on Monday night. Umar Sa’idu, a member of a community government-sponsored militia group, said he witnessed the aftermath of the blast.

“I counted five bodies lying in blood at the back of my house,” Sa’idu said, adding that he helped move the victims to hospital.
“After some hours, medical personnel at UMTH (University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital) confirmed that all five victims we gave escort to had died,” he told AFP by phone.

Military response and background

Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, the military’s spokesman in the northeast, confirmed that an attack took place but did not confirm the deaths.
“Our gallant soldiers shot the attacker when he attempted to carry out the bombing in their own position,” Uba told AFP.
“Unfortunately, our gallant soldiers sustained varying degrees of injury and are currently receiving medical care.”

Sa’idu said the bomber was a suspected Boko Haram member believed to have come from the nearby Mandara Mountains. According to a local hunter, Bukar Aji, the assailant approached the soldiers before detonating an explosive device strapped to his body.

Suicide bombings, once a defining tactic of Boko Haram during the peak of the insurgency more than a decade ago, have become less frequent in recent years as the military has made gains against the group. Pulka lies close to the Mandara Mountains, a rugged and sparsely governed border region between Nigeria and Cameroon that has long provided refuge for jihadist militants linked to Boko Haram and its splinter factions.