Boko Haram attack: Some of us fled, we were outnumbered and outgunned – Soldier

Following Boko Haram attack on the 113 Battalion Army at Kareto, northern Borno state, yesterday, Monday, a soldier with the regiment has revealed that the army were outnumbered and outgunned by the terrorist fighters.

NEWSVERGE reports that the Boko Haram fighters attacked Nigerian troops early on Monday, after two suspected suicide bombers were shot dead near military positions.

Army spokesperson Sani Usman said in a brief emailed statement: “Boko Haram terrorists attack troops of 113 Battalion at Kareto, northern Borno state.

“The troops have been battling the insurgents since the early hours of today.”

A soldier with the regiment told AFP the troops were ordered to the town of Damasak near the border with Niger and took up position in Kareto, some 38km away.

“Today at about 06:30 (05:30 GMT), two suicide bombers approached us and we shot at them and they exploded,” he said.

“As soon as the explosives went off, there were barrages of heavy artillery fired by Boko Haram, who came in large numbers with heavy weapons.

“We took up position in our trenches and fired back but they kept firing RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades], which we didn’t have.

“We lost some men, I don’t know how many, and many others were injured. Some of us fled in disarray. We realised that we were outnumbered and outgunned.”

The troops withdrew to Jeyimolo village and a fighter jet was deployed to Kareto while a search was launched for the dead and missing, he added.

A local chief confirmed the attack but said further details were still sketchy.

Meanwhile, sources confirmed that over 20 of the Nigerian soldiers died and two Army chiefs injured but could not give figure of insurgents that died in the gun battle.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari said in December, 2015, said that the Islamist militants had been weakened to the extent that they could no longer mount conventional attacks against the military.

But the latest strike again underlines the persistent threat posed by the Islamic State group affiliate, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas.

Although, security experts in the country has warned the Nigerian government and the Army not to celebrate yet rather be on the alert as the Boko Haram terrorist group may be grouping somewhere.