The Islamic State’s West Africa Province, ISWAP (Wilayat Gharb Afrīqīyyah), otherwise known as Boko Haram, has released pictures of deadly Friday attack in Gudumbali, Borno State.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that insurgents dislodged Nigerian troops and recaptured Gudumbali town, the headquarters of Guzamala Local Government Area in the northern part of Borno State, few weeks after residents returned to the town.
Sources said there was heavy casualty from both the terrorists and Nigerian troops.
In a message released by ISIS and translated into English by a Facebook user, Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, the insurgents said they they destroyed military vehicles and stashed away cache of arms.
“Attack on groups of the apostate Nigeria army in Gudumbali. West Africa Province Saturday 28 Dhu al-Hijja 1439 AH. After putting reliance on God, a squadron of the soldiers of the Caliphate set out yesterday towards Gudumbali in the Borno area to strike the fortifications of the apostate Nigerian army so the mujahideen assaulted their groupings as confrontations with different types of weapons raged.
“As a result of these confrontations the apostates fled. And God enabled the mujahideen to destroy two tanks and four vehicles of Kojar types and a BMP vehicle and two other armoured vehicles, while they took as spoils a Kojar vehicle and a soldiers transport and different types of weapons and ammunition. And praise and favour be to God.”
In July, Nigeria’s chief of army staff, Tukur Buratai, unveiled a cenotaph in remembrance of the 144 officers and soldiers killed by Boko Haram in one fell swoop in November 2015.
The Gudumbali attack is considered one of the deadliest single casualties of the military in the ongoing Boko Haram war.
The victims were among a battalion of 750 soldiers who suffered the shock reprisal attack after fighting for four days through a heavily fortified rank of Boko Haram.
