Nigerian soldiers backed by air support repelled an attack on a military base in northeastern Nigeria late Wednesday and killed at least 80 assailants, the Nigerian army said in a statement delivered by spokesperson Sani Uba. The attack targeted the Mallam Fatori base in Borno state near the border with Niger, according to the statement.
Uba said the assault began at around 12:50 a.m. and that the attackers were supported by multiple armed drones. The army described the attackers as suspected Islamic militants, including possible Boko Haram fighters or members of the Islamic State West Africa Province.
According to the statement, troops had anticipated the assault and fought back using ground fire and air support. Uba said Nigerian soldiers killed at least 80 fighters, including three “high-profile” commanders, and that the Associated Press could not independently verify the army’s claims.
The army also said four soldiers were wounded and were evacuated for treatment. Uba added that troops recovered a large cache of weapons from the suspected militants, including assault rifles, RPG launchers, machine guns, ammunition, improvised explosive devices and armed drone components.
The attack came after three suspected suicide bombings on Monday in Maiduguri, Borno’s capital. The AP reported that those attacks killed at least 23 people and wounded 108 others.
No group claimed responsibility for the Wednesday base attack, but suspicion quickly fell on Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria to enforce its radical interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Boko Haram has since fractured into factions and has expanded, and one offshoot—Islamic State West Africa Province—has staged a growing number of attacks against the military in recent months, the AP said.
The AP also noted that the broader crisis has overstretched Nigeria’s military, which is dealing with multiple security crises across the conflict-battered north. The report cited United Nations data saying more than 40,000 people in Nigeria have been killed since Boko Haram’s insurgency began, and it said the U.S. sent troops last month to help advise Nigeria’s military in the fight against insecurity.