MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Militants killed around 100 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on an army base on Sunday, security sources said on Thursday, blaming Islamic State West Africa.

The toll is among the highest since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015 and it could raise pressure on him ahead of an election in February, not least because he has claimed victory over the nine-year insurgency.

The insurgents attacked the base in the village of Metele in northeastern Borno state, the epicentre of a revolt by Boko Haram and its Islamic State splinter group.

“The insurgents took us unawares,” said an officer who requested anonymity. “The base was burned with arms and we lost about 100 soldiers. It is a huge loss.”

Many troops are missing, the sources said. One soldier said more troops were killed on Tuesday when an attempt to recover bodies from the initial attack was ambushed.

“We all flew because we didn’t know where the bullets were coming from,” he said. “They killed some of us who went to evacuate the bodies of the killed soldiers.”

“We left our amour, tanks and weapons. They were all there. The village is still under their control.”

Four security sources said around 100 died in Metele and the death toll was not final. The fifth said 96 died in the northeast in recent days, mostly in Metele.

The senate, which is controlled by the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday suspended its session in honour of what it said were 44 dead soldiers after the Metele attack.

Opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, who is Buhari’s main rival, called on the government to support the families of dead soldiers.

A presidency spokesman said the military would issue a statement. Military spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment. The government and military often decline to acknowledge the scale of losses in the northeast.

Militants have killed hundreds of soldiers in the region in recent months.</s>Three soldiers were killed in a fierce night attack by Boko Haram on a military base in Borno state.

Boko Haram fighters reportedly said to be from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province attacked the base in the town of Kareto, 150 kilometres (about 90 miles) north of the state capital Maiduguri on Wednesday, November 15th.

The militants for a moment dislodged troops from the base before being repelled with aerial support, the sources said.

“We lost three soldiers in the fight and several others are still missing. The terrorists were smoked out of the base by a fighter jet which deployed to the scene” said a military source who spoke on anonymity

The military source did not however state if the sect members carted away any weapons.

“The bodies of three soldiers were recovered after the attack,” said the militia who preferred not to be identified. More troops have arrived in Kareto but most residents have not returned,” an eyewitness said

It was the second attack on the military base in two years.

Also, Like us on facebook</s>At least three soldiers were killed and several missing after a Boko Haram attack on a military base in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, military and militia sources told AFP on Thursday.

Boko Haram fighters believed to be from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) late Wednesday attacked the base in the town of Kareto, 150km north of the state capital Maiduguri.

The militants temporarily dislodged troops from the base before being repelled with aerial support, the sources said.

“We lost three soldiers in the fight and several others are still missing,” a military officer in Maiduguri told AFP.

“The terrorists were smoked out of the base by a fighter jet which deployed to the scene,” said the officer who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the incident.

Troop reinforcements were sent to the base, the officer said. It was not clear if the jihadists took away weapons.

A civilian militia fighting Boko Haram in the area said troops withdrew to the town of Gubio, 60 km away, while Kareto residents fled across the border into Niger.

“The bodies of three soldiers were recovered after the attack,” said the militia who preferred not to be identified.

“More troops have arrived in Kareto but most residents have not returned,” he said.

It was the second attack on the military base in two years.

In April 2016, a Boko Haram raid left 24 soldiers wounded, according to military authorities.

Boko Haram jihadists late Wednesday also attacked Mammanti village, just outside Maiduguri, killing one person and burning the entire village before stealing hundreds of cattle, the local chief of the village and residents said.

“The insurgents came around 23:00 and opened indiscriminate fire,” Muhammad Mammanti, a resident, said.

“They killed one person and burnt the whole village and stole our cattle,” Mammanti said.

Earlier in the day a group of jihadists abducted seven women while working on a farm near the town of Bama, 70km from Maiduguri, after killing their male escort, militia sources said.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on farmers and loggers in recent years, accusing them of passing information on the group to the military.

Despite the government’s insistence that the group is near defeat, Boko Haram has recently carried out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores.

More than 27 000 people have died since the start of the insurgency in the remote northeast in 2009 and 1.8 million are still homeless. AFP.</s>Nigerian troops repelled an attack on a military base in northeastern Borno state in which a soldier was killed and four others were injured, military and militia sources told AFP Saturday.

On Wednesday jihadists from IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province killed three soldiers when they temporarily seized control of another base in the town of Kareto, 200 kilometres away.

In the latest attack on Friday, the jihadists in several trucks carrying anti-aircraft guns attacked a base in the Kekeno village near the garrison town of Monguno, the sources said.

The militants were pushed back after a prolonged fight that lasted almost three hours with aerial support and reinforcements from Monguno.

"The terrorists made desperate efforts to overrun the base but were pushed back after heavy fighting," a military officer in Maiduguri said.

"Unfortunately we lost one soldier in the encounter and four others sustained injuries," the officer, who asked not to be named, added.

There was no indication of Boko Haram casualties.

Details of the attack were slow to emerge as telecommunications infrastructure has been destroyed by fighting and there are strict controls on movement in rural Borno state.

"The insurgents could not enter the base despite their number and heavy weapons," said a civilian militia fighting the jihadists who gave a similar account.

"I learnt one soldier was killed and a few others were wounded," the militia said,

Residents of Kekeno fled to Monguno following the attack, Monguno resident Adamu Sheriff said.

"Boko Haram attacked Kekeno around 5:30 pm (1630GMT) and engaged soldiers for almost three hours before they were forced out", said Sheriff who arrived Maiduguri on Saturday.

It was the second attempt by Boko Haram to takeover the base in two months.

In September the jihadists made a failed attempt to seize the Kekeno base and were pushed back after hours-long battle.

The Nigerian military said on Saturday the spokesman of an IS-affiliated Boko Haram jihadists faction was killed in the encounter with government troops.

In a statement on its Twitter account the military said Sale Ahmad Sale alias Baban Hassan identified as a member of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) was killed in a joint operation by the army and air force.

"The killing of the media leader is indicative of efforts by the NA (Nigerian army) to eliminate key members of the sect," the statement said.

The military did not say when the joint opearation was conducted.

In September 2012 soldiers shot dead Boko Haram spokesman Abul Qaqa at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kano after he was tracked down through his phone signal.

The leader of Boko Haram offshoot Ansaru was also killed in a raid on his hideout in Kano around the same time.

Gali's death brings to three the number of Boko Haram's media commanders to be killed in the group's nine-year armed campaign to establish a hardline Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

In a December 2016 recording Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau said he executed the group's spokesman Abu Zinnira over a plot to oust him as the leader.

In recent months, Boko Haram has carried out repeated attacks on military bases in Borno state, although the army has strongly denied reports of heavy troop casualties.

Nigerian authorities maintain the group, whose insurgency has left more than 27,000 dead since 2009, is on the verge of defeat despite an upsurge in attacks in recent months.</s>Nigerian troops repelled an attack on a military base in northeastern Borno state in which a soldier was killed and four others were injured, military and militia sources told AFP Saturday.

On Wednesday jihadists from IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province killed three soldiers when they temporarily seized control of another base in the town of Kareto, 200 kilometres away.

In the latest attack on Friday, the jihadists in several trucks carrying anti-aircraft guns attacked a base in the Kekeno village near the garrison town of Monguno, the sources said.

The militants were pushed back after a prolonged fight that lasted almost three hours with aerial support and reinforcements from Monguno.

"The terrorists made desperate efforts to overrun the base but were pushed back after heavy fighting," a military officer in Maiduguri said.

"Unfortunately we lost one soldier in the encounter and four others sustained injuries," the officer, who asked not to be named, added.

There was no indication of Boko Haram casualties.

Details of the attack were slow to emerge as telecommunications infrastructure has been destroyed by fighting and there are strict controls on movement in rural Borno state.

"The insurgents could not enter the base despite their number and heavy weapons," said a civilian militia fighting the jihadists who gave a similar account.

"I learnt one soldier was killed and a few others were wounded," the militia said,

Residents of Kekeno fled to Monguno following the attack, Monguno resident Adamu Sheriff said.

"Boko Haram attacked Kekeno around 5:30 pm (1630GMT) and engaged soldiers for almost three hours before they were forced out", said Sheriff who arrived Maiduguri on Saturday.

It was the second attempt by Boko Haram to takeover the base in two months.

In September the jihadists made a failed attempt to seize the Kekeno base and were pushed back after hours-long battle.

In recent months, Boko Haram jihadists have carried out repeated attacks on military bases in the northern part of Borno, although the military has strongly denied reports of heavy troop casualties.

The authorities maintain the group, whose insurgency has left more than 27,000 dead since 2009, is on the verge of defeat, despite the ongoing violence.</s>Boko Haram, Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist group, is increasing the ferocity and tempo of its attacks, destabilizing Africa's most populous nation as it prepares for elections.

Girls as young as 10 are being used as suicide bombers. There have been daring attacks on military barracks in Nigeria and Cameroon. The group, which wants to impose Shariah across the country and is increasing its territory under a self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate, recently massacred hundreds of civilians, with death toll estimates ranging up to 2,000.

President Goodluck Jonathan, the front-runner in the Feb. 14 presidential and legislative elections, launched his campaign last week with no reference to the seizure of a key military base at Baga, near the border of Cameroon and Chad. As soldiers fled the base on Jan. 3, Boko Haram went on a killing spree, reportedly drowning many in Lake Chad. Amnesty International called it the deadliest massacre in Boko Haram's 5-year insurgency.

Survivors have described hundreds of fighters riding into town in a column led by an armored personnel carrier stolen from the military, on the backs of pickup trucks and on motorcycles, firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles and hurling homemade bombs that set buildings ablaze.

A military officer said that more than 10 days later, Baga remains under the control of Boko Haram.

"We have not heard any order deploying soldiers to return to Baga for now," he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared being punished by his superiors for talking to the press. "As a matter of fact, most of the soldiers that managed to escape from Baga had redeployed back to their mother stations of deployment."

The marginalized part of the country is semi-arid desert that turns to lush forest around Lake Chad and is home to traders, subsistence farmers, herdsmen and fishermen. It includes a couple of the biggest cattle markets on the continent.

Since August, when the insurgents declared they were recreating an ancient Islamic caliphate that included parts of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, they have seized or consolidated control of more than 10 percent of Nigerian territory, mostly in the state of Borno where the group was created. In Borno, Boko Haram holds 14 of the 27 local government areas including all the border crossings into Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

This week, hundreds of Boko Haram fighters attacked a Cameroonian military camp near the border, but, according to Cameroonian officials, they bit off more than they could chew. Cameroon's government said Tuesday that its military killed 143 militants with only one Cameroonian soldier killed.

Boko Haram also holds small parts of Nigeria's Adamawa and Yobe states. While most attacks occur in the northeast, leaving many Nigerians remote and uncaring about the conflict, hundreds were killed last year in car bomb attacks in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, and in Jos, both in central Nigeria.

Analysts say Boko Haram fighters numbered no more than 4,000 or 5,000 about 18 months ago when they began abducting hundreds of mainly young females and males. The group also has been recruiting fighters for pay in neighboring countries.

While there is little likelihood of Boko Haram overrunning Nigeria, many worry that the group's hostility to democracy will increase attacks around the elections. Nigerian troops have been unable to snuff out the insurgency despite a pledge by top commander last year to do so in a three-month span.

Boko Haram attracted international attention when it seized some 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school in April last year. Dozens escaped on their own but the failure of Nigeria's government and its once-powerful military to rescue 219 who remain missing has brought condemnation and puzzlement.

Nigeria's military budget amounts to between $5 billion and $6 billion a year, yet soldiers are reportedly being sent into battle with just 30 bullets, former U.S. Ambassador John Campbell to Nigeria told The Associated Press. Several generals last year were found guilty by a court-martial of delivering arms and information to Boko Haram. Soldiers say they are demoralized because Boko Haram outnumbers and outguns them where they're deployed in hostile territory without even food rations and because officers steal part of their salaries. Some of the troops who are supposed to be rotated every six months have been in the war zone for more than two years.

Campbell, now a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, said that Nigeria's military, once considered the single national institution that would prevent the country from breaking apart, is riven by tribal and religious cleavages.

Nigerian officials insist that voting will be carried out in the northeast next month, but it will be a challenge if not impossible to conduct the polling in an area where some 1.6 million people have been driven from their homes and in places where even government soldiers don't dare to tread.</s>Soldiers from Niger and Chad have retaken a Nigerian town from Boko Haram, another victory in a regional campaign to wrest back control of swaths of Nigeria from the Islamic militants.

Col. Michel Ledru of Niger's army said Wednesday that Damasak was regained over the weekend. On Wednesday, an Associated Press photographer in the town said it was largely deserted, except for 2,000 troops from Niger and Chad and a handful of civilians.

Damasak, just a few miles (kilometers) from the border with Niger, had signs of its occupation by the militants. Walls were covered in their writings and the extremists' black and white flag still flew above some buildings. Bullet-ridden vehicles were abandoned in the streets.

Boko Haram has been fighting a six-year insurgency to create an Islamic state.
Boko Haram fighters loyal to ISIS attacked a military base in the Nigerian town of Metele, killing at least 118 soldiers while at least 153 others were missing after the attack, the militants also seized tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, weapons, and ammunition (Reuters)