A senior officer and Commanding Officer in the Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Umar Farouq, has been killed by Boko Haram during a deadly attack on a military base in Borno State.
Sources who spoke to Sahara Reporters said that the terrorists dislodged the troops from the base, set vehicles ablaze and carted away ammunition.
The aforementioned publication earlier reported how a military base in Kukuwa town came under a highly coordinated attack on Sunday by militants of the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram
Giving an update on Monday afternoon, a source identified Lieutenant Colonel Farouq as one of the casualties.
“The commanding officer here, Lieutenant Colonel Umar Farouq, and some of his troops have been confirmed dead already, so sad,” the source said.
It was learnt that the latest incident occurred less than 72 hours after Boko Haram insurgents killed another senior officer identified as Lieutenant Colonel SI Iliyasu.
Iliyasu, who was the Commanding Officer of 222 Battalion, and some of his men were killed in Konduga, Borno State by the terrorists.
In the past months, soldiers have been targeted by the insurgents.
Between 10 pm last Thursday night and 3 am last Friday, the terrorists simultaneously attacked four military bases in Konduga, Mainok, Jakana, and Marte town in Borno State.
They reportedly fired at the military facilities sporadically, causing numerous casualties.
The gunmen also came in different groups. During the attacks, the gunmen reportedly burned armoured tanks, military vehicles, and made away with unquantifiable ammunition.
According to one of the sources, the military also killed scores of Boko Haram terrorists while repelling the attacks.
“Several attacks on military bases in Operation Hadin Kai by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists in Konduga, Mainok, Jakana around 10:30 pm last night, while in Marte town around 3:00 am on Friday; the attacks on military bases keep increasing on a daily basis within the North East operation,” a military source said.
“One is along Bama and close to Maiduguri; I mean the base attacked in Konduga, while Mainok and Jakana town are both along Maiduguri/Damaturu road.
“Marte town, where another base was attacked, is after Dikwa Local Government Area, close to the Chad border.
“During these different attacks, many Boko Haram members were killed, including their commanders. I don’t have the actual numbers of soldiers killed as well, but the terrorists took over some of these bases for hours without air support from the Nigerian Air Force,” one of the sources said.
