A suicide car bomber has attacked a military convoy in northeast Nigeria, killing five soldiers and injuring another 40, security forces have said.
Two military officers told the AFP news agency on Friday that the attacker, believed to be loyal to factional Boko Haram leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi, targeted the convoy, which was conducting “clearance operations” between Yobe and Borno states.
“At about 10:00 GMT on Thursday, a suicide bomber believed to be a Boko Haram terrorist riding in a van loaded with explosives rammed into a military convoy at Manguzum village,” one said.
“We lost five soldiers in the incident and more than 40 sustained various degrees of injuries,” added the officer, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak about the incident.
At least 20,000 people have been killed in the Boko Haram conflict since it began in 2009 and more than 2.6 million others made homeless.
