A landmine exploded under a Nigerian military vehicle, killing seven soldiers in a northeastern area where jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State are active, an anti-jihadist militia reported on Friday.
The soldiers were on their way to Kukawa early Thursday when their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device, according to two militia sources.
“All seven soldiers in the van died in the explosion at Bawarti village,” said Babakura Kolo, an anti-jihadist militia leader. Another militia official, Ibrahim Liman, confirmed the incident.
Both sources attributed the attack to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the predominant jihadist group in the Lake Chad area.
Nigerian forces have been battling an insurgency in the region for over a decade, resulting in around 40,000 deaths and displacing two million people in northeast Nigeria. While the conflict’s intensity has decreased in recent months, ISWAP and its ri
