Ruins in Banki, April 26, 2017. FLORIAN PLAUCHEUR
Three soldiers were killed on Thursday and 11 people, including seven civilians, were injured in the explosion of a mine in northeastern Nigeria plagued by a jihadist insurgency, two militiamen and military.
On Thursday evening, a military patrol vehicle struck a mine placed on a highway 10 km from the town of Banki, in Borno State, near the border with Cameroon, killing three soldiers and seriously injuring four others, the sources said. A truck carrying residents of the regional capital Maiduguri to Banki for the gubernatorial elections on Saturday was also caught in the blast and seven passengers were injured by shrapnel, the same sources said.
“Three soldiers died in the explosion and four others were seriously injured, while seven civilians were also injuredsaid Usman Hamza, a member of an anti-jihadist militia. A military officer and another militiaman gave the same assessment on condition of anonymity. The military did not immediately comment.
Hamza accuses ISIS
Mr. Hamza accused the jihadist group Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap), active in the region, of planting the bomb. In the past, Iswap and its rival Boko Haram have launched several attacks in and around Banki, targeting soldiers and displaced people. The city is home to some 45,000 people displaced by the jihadist conflict which has lasted for 14 years and which has left 40,000 dead and two million displaced according to the UN.
The violence has since spread to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting the creation of a regional military coalition to fight jihadist groups.