MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – At least four Nigerian security personnel were killed when their patrol vehicle detonated a landmine in the western-central state of Niger, a security official said.
Authorities in Niger said last year that Islamist militants had established a presence in the Shiroro local government area for the first time. Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari said the military had started a major offensive targeting militants there.
The use of explosives against security personnel in Niger state is not common, but gunmen are known to attack villages and kidnap people for ransom.
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) spokesman Odumosu Olusola said the explosion occurred on a road in Galadiman Kogo town in Shiroro in the early hours of Monday.
In a statement late on Monday Olusola said the security personnel were killed when their patrol vehicle “stepped on a buried land mine, which exploded immediately, killing all occupants except the driver, who is currently in a very critical condition.”
A spokesman for the governor of Niger said separately gunmen stormed Galadiman Kogo, killed an unknown number of people and burned buildings.
Nigeria’s security forces are stretched as they fight insurgents in the northeast and armed gangs in the north and northwest of the country.
(Reporting by Maiduguri newsroom, editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Gerry Doyle)
