Six Nigerian and Nigerian troops killed by Islamic State, security forces say

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Six soldiers from Nigeria and Niger were killed in an operation this month by fighters from the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), a joint military unit said on Thursday.

ISWAP, which split off from Boko Haram five years ago and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, is fighting against troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger in the Lake Chad region. A multinational joint task force (MTJF) made up of soldiers from Nigeria and Niger had targeted Islamist insurgents near the Lake Chad basin, but encountered strong resistance and came under fire from mortar attacks and improvised explosive devices, said MTJF spokesman Colonel Muhammad Dole in an explanation.

Two officers and four other ranks from both countries were killed and 16 wounded, Dole said, without giving an exact date. Twenty-two militants were killed and 17 captured, while gun wagons and other weapons and ammunition were destroyed, he said. The region in which the attacks took place is part of the northeastern state of Borno, the center of the Islamist uprising, in which, according to the United Nations, around 300,000 people died and millions were dependent on aid.

The governor of Borno announced that it would close all internally displaced persons camps in the state capital Maiduguri by the end of this month. But militant attacks across Borno are fueling fears of returning to their homes among thousands of displaced persons. (Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe, editing by Grant McCool)

(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)

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