MAIDUGURI, March 14 (Reuters) - Islamist militants have
killed about 30 government soldiers in a series of clashes in
northeast Nigeria since Wednesday, military and civilian militia
sources said on Sunday.
Security across Nigeria has been deteriorating in recent
months, including in the northeast.
Four attacks claimed the lives of at least 27 soldiers and
10 members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), including a
unit head, the sources told Reuters.
CJTF are local groups of armed men who protect the areas
where they live, mainly against Islamist insurgents. They are
not members of the military but often fight alongside soldiers.
Neither Army nor defence headquarters spokesmen took calls
or responded to messages requesting comment.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the regional
affiliate of Islamic State, claimed credit for a Friday attack
in Monguno, via its Amaq news agency on Saturday.
ISWAP said it had killed 33 soldiers and captured one. Two
military sources and one CJTF fighter said the attack, which
took place between Monguno and Kukawa, had killed between 11 and
15 soldiers, with several still missing. Four CJTF fighters were
also killed.
Soldiers also killed eight militants in fighting in Gamdu on
Wednesday, the sources said.
A more than decade-long Islamist insurgency in northeast
Nigeria waged by Boko Haram and later ISWAP has displaced about
2 million people and killed more than 30,000.
In Kaduna state in northwest Nigeria, armed men attempted to
kidnap more students, a state government official said, as 39
others from an earlier attack remain missing. Four school
kidnappings since December have provoked nationwide outrage.