About eight Nigerian soldiers have been killed after their convoy ran into an Improvised Explosive Device planted by militants from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād in Borno State.
SaharaReporters learnt that the troops attached to the 24 Task Force Brigade, Dikwa were returning to base from Maiduguri on Thursday when the incident occurred.
According to a military source, the personnel were escorting foodstuffs and other logistics to their base in Dikwa town when the attack happened.
“Yesterday, Thursday, the leading vehicle, a gun truck ran into an IED on their way back to Dikwa from Maiduguri. All the soldiers in that vehicle died on the spot. About eight of them,” the source said.
The names and ranks of the deceased had not been confirmed as of the time of filing this report.
In recent months, soldiers have been repeatedly targeted by insurgents who lay ambushes and plant explosives along military supply routes.
Scores of soldiers and officers have reportedly been killed since January 2021.
In June, three soldiers were killed and several others injured when their vehicle hit an IED along the Marte–Dikwa road, another major supply route used by the military in Borno.
In April 2025, terrorists ambushed a military convoy in the same Dikwa axis, killing at least four soldiers and burning two trucks.
Security analysts say the insurgents have shifted tactics in recent months, moving away from direct confrontations to planting IEDs along roads used to move food, fuel and troops between Maiduguri, Dikwa, Bama and other LGAs.
