A senior Nigerian soldier, lieutenant colonel B.U. Umar, was on Tuesday killed by the Boko Haram, according to army sources.
Umar, the commanding officer of 114 TF battalion of the Nigerian Army was ambushed by 9. 30 am Tuesday alongside his troops between Bita and Piridang.
“His vehicle stepped on an improvised explosive device, but he was not hurt. He came out to assess the damage on the vehicle and Boko Haram opened fire and killed him in the process,” the source said.
Eight other soldiers were injured and evacuated to Michika, Adamawa State, for treatment.
The soldiers were said to be on their way to Yola in Adamawa State from Bita in Borno State when the incident occurred, sources said.
The full casualty from the attack is not yet clear.
Umar, who recently took over the command of the 114 battalion about three weeks ago, was a member of the 48 Regular Course in the Nigeria Defence Academy, NDA.
The killing of Umar occurs about a week after another Lieutenant Colonel, Muhammed Abu-Ali, and his troops were killed in another ambush by Boko Haram.
The attacks by the Boko Haram have continued despite ongoing negotiation with the federal government. The negotiations already led to the release of 21 of the over 200 Chibok girls kidnapped by the sect in 2014.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it has carried out a recent attack on Boko Haram insurgents’ location outskirt of Malkonori in northern Borno State.
The latest attack was a follow-up to the close air support operation that repelled the insurgents who attacked own ground forces at Kangarwa.
Survivors among the insurgents had fled to Dogochuku where they were also attacked by NAF fighter aircraft and forced to relocate to Malkonori.
Ground forces confirmed a number of the insurgents were killed and their vehicle destroyed from the latest air strike at Malkonori.
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