Terrorists Attack Military Base In Kwara, Kill Three Soldiers

KAIAMA, Kwara State, Nigeria – Suspected Ansaru fighters have attacked a military base in Kemanji village, Kaiama Local Government Area, killing at least three soldiers and injuring four others, including a local vigilante.

The terrorists overran the camp in a swift pre-dawn raid and made away with eight operational motorcycles and a gun truck, intelligence sources and residents confirmed to NaijaChoice News.

The assault took place around 3 a.m. in Kemanji, a settlement on the edge of Kainji National Park, a known hideout for the group in the vast forest reserves linking Kwara, Niger and Oyo states.

“The terrorists came straight to the military camp and opened fire on the soldiers,” a forest guard who fights alongside the troops told NaijaChoice News, requesting anonymity for safety. “They killed three soldiers and injured four – three soldiers and one vigilante.”

A vigilante member in the village said the soldiers fought back fiercely and killed several of the attackers before they withdrew.

Sources familiar with the area attributed the strike to Ansaru, the Boko Haram breakaway faction aligned with al-Qaeda, which has clashed with security forces in Kemanji before. Other armed groups operate in the same forests, but locals and intelligence pointed to Ansaru’s pattern and hideouts inside the national park.

Military authorities and the Kwara State Police Command are yet to issue any official statement on the incident.

The attack comes months after heavy deployments under Operation Savannah Shield following deadly raids on nearby Woro and Nuku communities earlier this year. Security analysts say the Kainji forest corridor remains a major challenge for troops trying to flush out jihadists from the dense reserves.