Trouble as ISIS merges with Nigeria Boko Haram , raids military base, kills three solders, carts away ammunition * As over 27,000 're dead, 1.8 million rendered homeless since.

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ISIS merges with Nigeria Boko Haram , raids military base, kills three solders, carts away ammunition

* As over 27,000 ‘re dead, 1.8 million rendered homeless since…

By Steve Oko ( with agency report)

The insurgency in the North East Nigeria has assumed a frightening dimension as the dreaded ISIS fighters have now joined forces with a faction of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Reports reaching Wawa News Global desk say the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram on Friday, November 16, raided a military base in Borno State.

The raid accordingly to the SITE Intelligence Group, claimed no fewer than three soldiers while scores were wounded.

According to the group which monitors jihadist activities, “ISIS fighters Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed killing three Nigerian soldiers in a raid on their base in Kareto, Borno State”.

ISWAP claimed in the communique that three soldiers were killed in the clashes and that they captured an “array of weapons and ammunitions as spoils”, according to the statement.

According to a military source, the attack on Kareto, a base some 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of the Borno state capital Maiduguri, started late Wednesday.

“We lost three soldiers in the fight and several others are still missing,” a military officer in Maiduguri told AFP on Thursday.

At the same time, Boko Haram fighters attacked Mammanti village, just outside Maiduguri, killing one person and burning the entire village.

They then stole hundreds of cattle, the local chief of the village and residents said.

In mid-2016, ideological differences caused Boko Haram to split into two factions, one led by Abubakar Shekau, the other recognised by the IS group.

The Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram on Friday claimed an attack on a military base in Nigeria’s northeast that killed three, the SITE Intelligence Group said.

Despite the Nigerian government’s insistence that Boko Haram is near defeat, it still carries out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores.

On November 9, Shekau claimed several attacks in northeast Nigeria in a video message obtained by AFP.

More than 27,000 people have died since the start of the insurgency in the remote northeast in 2009 and 1.8 million are still homeless.

According to reports at least three soldiers were killed and several missing after a Boko Haram attack on a military base in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, military and militia sources told AFP Thursday.

Boko Haram fighters believed to be from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) late Wednesday attacked the base in the town of Kareto, 150 kilometres (about 90 miles) north of the state capital Maiduguri.

The militants temporarily dislodged troops from the base before being repelled with aerial support, the sources said. “We lost three soldiers in the fight and several others are still missing,” a military officer in Maiduguri told AFP.

“The terrorists were smoked out of the base by a fighter jet which deployed to the scene,” said the officer who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the incident.

Troop reinforcements were sent to the base, the officer said.

It was not clear if the jihadists took away weapons.

A civilian militia fighting Boko Haram in the area said troops withdrew to the town of Gubio, 60 km away, while Kareto residents fled across the border into Niger.

“The bodies of three soldiers were recovered after the attack,” said the militia who preferred not to be identified.

“More troops have arrived in Kareto but most residents have not returned,” he said.

It was the second attack on the military base in two years. In April 2016, a Boko Haram raid left 24 soldiers wounded, according to military authorities.

Boko Haram jihadists late Wednesday also attacked Mammanti village, just outside Maiduguri, killing one person and burning the entire village before stealing hundreds of cattle, the local chief of the village and residents said. “The insurgents came around 11:00 pm (2200 GMT) and opened indiscriminate fire,” Muhammad Mammanti, a resident, said.

“They killed one person and burnt the whole village and stole our cattle,” Mammanti said. Earlier in the day a group of jihadists abducted seven women while working on a farm near the town of Bama, 70 km from Maiduguri, after killing their male escort, militia sources said.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on farmers and loggers in recent years, accusing them of passing information on the group to the military.

Despite the government’s insistence that the group is near defeat, Boko Haram has recently carried out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores.

More than 27,000 people have died since the start of the insurgency in the remote northeast in 2009 and 1.8 million are still homeless.

The President Muhammadu Buhari -led Federal Government has severally claimed to have tactfully defeated Boko Haram but the activities of the terrorist group as the country gears up for the 2019 polls tend to cast doubts on the correctness of the claims.

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Steve Oko, Publisher/C.E.O, WaWa News Global. For more information on advert placement and news coverage, contact us on: 08038725600, or via email stevemanofgod2000@yahoo.com; wawanewsglobal@gmail.com Always read WaWa News Global - Your most dependable online news platform for the latest breaking news in Nigeria.