At least 65 Nigerian soldiers have been killed in jihadist raids across the country’s north-east in the last two weeks, as the west African state battles to contain one of the world’s deadliest terror groups. On 5 and 6 March, gunmen from Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) overran four military bases in Borno state, the epicentre of the insurgency. Nigerian daily the Punch reported that about 40 soldiers were killed in total in these attacks. Nigerian troops “successfully defeated multiple coordinated attacks launched by Iswap terrorists on military locations in Delwa, Goniri, Kukawa and Mainok” on 8 and 9 March, the army said in another statement. In November, a general was killed by jihadists who then taunted Nigerian authorities by releasing footage about his death even as the state denied his capture.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 11, 2026 14:48 UTC