Some Nigerian troops fighting the terrorist Boko Haram group in the North-East were Saturday morning caught in an explosion triggered by an improvised explosive device planted by the sect, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.
The troops, who are of the 122 Task Force Battalion, Pulka, in Borno State, ran into the land mine between Banki junction and Bama as they conducted escort patrol from Pulka to Maiduguri, people familiar with the matter told this website.
The incident occurred at 9:10 a.m. Saturday, our sources said.
Five members of the detachment were badly injured, and were promptly evacuated to Bama for first aid by a patrol team from Bama.
“The distance between Bama and Banki junction is just 7km,” a military analyst told PREMIUM TIMES. “There are troops deployed in-between yet Boko Haram terrorists still sneak in and plant mines.
“They sneak in at night and plant the mines. They know troops would always move in the morning.”
News of the incident in Pulka came shortly after army authorities emailed PREMIUM TIMES a statement saying a woman arrested wearing Nigerian Army uniforms in Abuja on Friday was an impersonator.
The fake army officer, who was arrested along Gwagwalada road falsely claimed to be a Major in the Nigerian Army, authorities said.
The army said contrary to insinuations, fake Major Juliana Gumel was not carrying Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) nor was she with kids when she was arrested.
Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, said the suspect was undergoing interrogation.
Mr. Usman, a colonel, said, “She claimed to be a Medical Doctor and a ” major” with a fake private soldier’s outdated identity card. But not with IED. I believe Guards Brigade or the Nigeria Police will issue a formal statement on it.
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