Soldiers killed as ISWAP militants attack Nigerian military base with drones

Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) used armed drones to attack a Nigerian military base in the northeastern state of Borno before dawn on Thursday, killing soldiers in what the army described as a dangerous escalation in the region’s long-running insurgency.

The militants targeted the Sabon Gari military base, breaching parts of the facility during the early-morning assault, according to Nigeria’s military. The attack marked the second major strike on military positions in Borno this week.

“The use of drones by the fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in recent attacks has marked a significant escalation in the violence in the region,” military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Sani Uba said, according to Reuters.

Uba said the attackers stormed the base’s perimeter and launched drone bombardments while ground fighting was ongoing, destroying several military assets. “Their drone bombardment destroyed several military vehicles, including an excavator and a low-bed trailer,” he said.

Reinforcements later arrived at the base, forcing the militants to withdraw. “The army regained control after reinforcements arrived, repelled the attack and were pursuing the militants,” Uba said.

He confirmed casualties among Nigerian forces and allied civilian fighters but did not disclose figures, saying some soldiers and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force “paid the supreme price.”

Two security sources told Reuters that at least nine soldiers and two Civilian Joint Task Force members were killed in the assault, with about 16 others wounded.

Nigeria’s military has intensified operations this year, pushing deeper into insurgent-held areas in the northeast as part of a renewed offensive against militant groups. Despite repeated campaigns, Boko Haram and its ISWAP offshoot have continued to stage complex attacks, aided by difficult terrain, porous borders and limited state presence across large parts of the region.

Borno state remains the epicentre of Nigeria’s 17-year Islamist insurgency, with militants increasingly targeting military convoys and bases.

In a separate account, security-focused outlet PRNigeria reported that government forces killed at least 18 militants during the Sabon Gari attack and in follow-up operations. According to the report, troops neutralised more than 12 fighters during a dawn assault on terrorist positions at Bula Dalo on January 28, forcing others to flee.

The report said troops recovered four AK-47 rifles, one PKT anti-aircraft gun, one rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a multiple grenade launcher. In a subsequent operation at the Garno terrorist camp, soldiers allegedly killed six more militants, destroyed their support structures and seized a large cache of PKT anti-aircraft ammunition.

The military has not independently confirmed the militant casualty figures reported by PRNigeria.