A yet-to-be confirmed number of persons including a mother and her child have been killed after a vehicle ran into an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, also known as Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Many others sustained various degrees of injury while the vehicle conveying the passengers and surrounding buildings were badly damaged and burnt.
SaharaReporters gathered that the incident happened on Monday in Sikarkur village, Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State.
The IED was said to have been planted by the terrorists for military patrol vehicles conveying troops around the area.
Improvised explosive devices and ambushes have continued to pose a major threat to soldiers fighting Boko Haram and ISWAP in Northern Nigeria.
“Yesterday, Boko Haram set a trap bomb on a road in Sikarkur village for soldiers, sadly a civilian vehicle ran over it and killed many people including a mother and her baby.
“The sister who was with her and others are currently receiving treatment at Chibok General Hospital. This and more are happening her daily and not being reported,” a villager told SaharaReporters.
This comes a few days after the terror group launched a brutal attack on two communities in same Chibok Local Government Area.
The assault resulted in significant loss of life, with the militants also setting fire to a church and several homes.
Chibok gained international attention in April 2014, after insurgents launched a daring raid on the Government Girls Secondary School, abducting 276 students in a notorious incident that shocked the world.
Since the death of JAS leader, Abubakar Shekau, ISWAP has been consolidating its grip in locations around Lake Chad.
The sect’s membership has swollen with the defection of hundreds of Boko Haram fighters formerly under Shekau.
The terror group has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions of individuals mainly in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states.