The Nigerian army authorities have said that five Nigerian soldiers and four members of the civilian vigilante group were killed on Sunday in an ambush by Boko Haram terrorists in Damboa local government area of Borno State.

Army spokesman, Sani Usman, in a statement, said that 19n other soldiers and a Civilian-JTF operative were injured in the attack.

Usman stated that the troops came under attack “at Ugundiri village, Damboa Local Government Area, Borno State, while returning to base after clearance operations yesterday,”

“Unfortunately, 5 soldiers, 3 vigilantes and 1 Civilian JTF lost their lives during the ambush, while 19 soldiers and 1 Civilian JTF sustained various degrees of injuries,” he added.

The army spokesman stated that “the bodies of the late soldiers and civilians have been evacuated to Maiduguri while the injured are receiving commensurate medical care and are in stable condition.”

He however added that despite the fatalities “the troops destroyed the terrorists gun truck and recovered 2 Anti-Aircraft guns, 2 spare Gun barrels, 1 General Purpose Machine Gun, 1 Rocket Propelled Grenade, 1 AK-47 Rifle and 320 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.”

“Troops have been mobilized into blocking positions to further neutralize fleeing Boko Haram terrorists,” he said.

Usman further stated that in a another incident, troops “neutralised” Boko Haram fighters based on information received about their gathering around Bori village, which is 16 kilometres away from Mainok, outskirts of Maiduguri.

“The troops recovered 3 Motorcycles, 1 hand Grenade, 1 round of 7.62mm ammunition, Solar panel, a pair of Niger Republic military camouflage uniform, 1 Gionee mobile telephone handset, 1 Wet Cell battery and half bag of groundnut” said Colonel Usman.