Boko Haram kills 8 Nigerian soldiers in raid

At least eight soldiers were killed in heavy fighting when Boko Haram raided a military camp and looted food from villagers in northeast Nigeria, a military source disclosed on Thursday. The attack in Sasawa village, some 45 kilometres from the Yobe state capital, Damaturu, happened at about 5 pm (1600 GMT) on Tuesday.

It was the third Boko Haram attack on the military in the remote region in the last two weeks, after a relative lull during the rainy season, which ended last month. The spokesman for 3 Division Nigerian Army in Damaturu, Colonel Kayode Ogunsanya, yesterday confirmed the attack, saying only that there were “casualties on both sides”. But a military commander in the city said the death toll had risen.