AT LEAST 15 KILLED IN ATTACK ON CONVOY IN BORNO

MAIDUGURI, OCTOBER 19 /SRNA–Reuters/ - At least 15 people, including 10 Nigerian soldiers and five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, were killed when a convoy struck a landmine and was ambushed by militants in Nigeria’s Borno State, two unnamed military sources said.

"Eight soldiers travelling in the vehicle were killed on the spot by the landmine explosion. Armed attackers then opened fire on another vehicle, killing two more soldiers and five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, which supports the military," the sources said.

The sources added that soldiers from a battalion in Gamboru were patrolling the road between Gamboru Ngala and neighboring Cameroon when a light truck in the convoy triggered a landmine believed to have been planted by Boko Haram insurgents.

Borno is the center of an insurgency led by the militant group Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province. Despite ongoing military operations, both groups continue to attack soldiers and civilians, using roadside bombs and ambushes in northeastern Nigeria and border areas.

Last week, Boko Haram militants killed at least 10 soldiers and wounded at least 20 others in a coordinated attack on a military base in Borno State.