Amidst the novel Coronavirus outbreak, Boko Haram fighters killed at least 50 Nigerian soldiers in an ambush near Goneri village in northern Yobe state.
Defence ministry spokesman, John Enenche, reported this incident to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said, “The Nigerian military suffered some casualties in the unfortunate attack, of the incident that occurred over the weekend”.
Enenche however, did not give the exact number of casualties, but local sources told German press agency dpa on the telephone that around 50 and 75 soldiers people were killed.
“After the attack they called in the air force and raided the position of the fighters and succeeded in killing all of them – although the military here did not give the actual number of Boko Haram fighters that were killed”.
A military official with knowledge of the operation told The Associated Press that the attack, one of the deadliest against troops recently, came as the military tried to launch an offensive against the armed group that began over the weekend.
The source said the insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and assault weapons at military vehicles.
He also said the injured are being treated at hospitals in Damaturu and Maiduguri.