Eight Soldiers K!lled As Military Van Runs Into ISWAP Landmine In Borno

A Nigerian Army patrol vehicle hit a landmine planted by Islamic State group-aligned jihadists in Borno State, near the border with Cameroon, killing eight soldiers, defence sources told AFP on Sunday.

The attack took place in the northeastern state of Borno on Saturday, October 17, 2026, the same day the Nigerian Army Chief, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, was visiting the state capital, Maiduguri, over an attack on a base days earlier that killed 15 soldiers and five anti-jihadist militia members.

In the latest attack, troops were inspecting anti-jihadist militia members who were clearing thickets along the highway outside the town of Gamboru when their vehicle rolled over the mine and exploded, killing all eight on board, the sources said.

The sources blamed the attack on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which is active in the area.

Jihadists use thickets along the highway as cover to ambush troops and motorists.

“All eight soldiers in the vehicle were killed in the explosion,” which happened in Kinuba village, 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) from Gamboru, a military officer in the region said.

Ibrahim Liman, an anti-jihadist militia member assisting the military against jihadists, gave the same toll.

“The explosive was planted on the dusty road and remotely detonated by a detonating cord,” Liman said.

A militia member supervising the thicket clearing was injured by shrapnel, said Liman.

ISWAP and rival jihadist group Boko Haram have increasingly resorted to planting mines on highways against military and civilian targets.

The long jihadist conflict has killed thousands of people and displaced over two million people from their homes in northeast.