Mine kills eight Nigerian troops

KANO, Nigeria

This photo shows a soldier serving in the Nigerian Armed Forces. (AP Photo)

A Nigerian army patrol vehicle hit a landmine planted by ISIL-aligned militants near the border with Cameroon, killing eight soldiers, defense sources told AFP on Oct. 18.

The attack happened in the northeastern state of Borno on Oct. 17, the same day the Nigerian army chief, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, was visiting the state capital, Maiduguri, over an attack on a base days earlier that killed 15 soldiers and five anti-jihadist militia members.

Jihadist violence in Nigeria which erupted in 2009 has eased since its peak a decade ago, but violence has been on the rise in the last two years.

In the latest attack, troops were inspecting anti-jihadist militia members who were clearing thickets along the highway outside the town of Gamboru when their vehicle rolled over the mine and exploded, killing all eight on board, the sources said, blaming the attack on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which is active in the area.

ISWAP and rival group Boko Haram have increasingly resorted to planting mines on highways against military and civilian targets.