Suspected Boko Haram fighters killed seven Nigerian soldiers and captured 13 others, including a senior officer, during a patrol ambush in Borno state on Monday.
The incident occurred in the Damasak area near Nigeria’s border with Niger, showing the persistent threat posed by Islamist insurgents despite intensified military operations in the region this year.
Security sources said the soldiers were conducting a routine patrol around 2:00 p.m. GMT when they encountered heavily armed militants, triggering a fierce gun battle.
Seven soldiers were killed during the clash, while 11 others managed to escape, the sources said. Thirteen troops, including their commanding officer, a major, were overpowered and taken captive.
“The major fought hard but in the end he was captured, and his phone was taken by Boko Haram,” one security source briefed on the incident said, highlighting the intensity of the confrontation.
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According to the sources, surviving soldiers later attempted to call the officer’s phone after regrouping at their base. The call was answered by someone who identified himself as a Boko Haram member and said the captured soldiers were being held by the group.
A military rescue team was subsequently deployed and has recovered the bodies of the seven slain soldiers. However, the whereabouts of the captured troops remain unknown, the sources said.
A spokesperson for the Nigerian Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The attack comes as Nigeria’s military steps up an offensive across the northeast, pushing deeper into areas long controlled by insurgent groups. Authorities say the campaign aims to disrupt militant supply routes and reclaim territory.
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Despite repeated operations, Boko Haram and its splinter factions have continued to stage large-scale attacks, often targeting military patrols and bases. Analysts attribute their resilience to difficult terrain, porous borders with neighboring countries, and limited state presence across parts of the arid region.
Boko Haram, which emerged in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, according to United Nations estimates.
The group later fractured, with one faction pledging allegiance to Islamic State and forming the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). ISWAP has increasingly focused on coordinated assaults against military installations in recent years, posing a sustained challenge to Nigerian security forces.