Militants launched two separate deadly attacks in northeast and northwestern Nigeria, killing 28 people, authorities confirmed Thursday.
The most severe assault struck Malam Fatori, a border town near Niger, where IS-aligned Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters stormed a camp for internally displaced people.
ISWAP militants arrived around 0120 GMT in several vans equipped with machine guns, opening fire and igniting fires in hospital and government buildings.
Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyo Osoba of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) confirmed 11 deaths in the attack and said military forces have regained control of the area.
Abor Mallum, an anti-militant militia member assisting the military, reported a death toll of 12 and said 20 wounded victims were hospitalized in Bosso, Niger.
Malam Fatori, once captured by Boko Haram in 2014, was reclaimed by Nigerian forces in 2015 and now hosts a military base to counter repeated ISWAP attacks.
The MNJTF, comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, was created in 1998 to combat cross-border crime and now fights regional militant groups.
For 16 years, insurgent violence has killed more than 40,000 and displaced around two million in Nigeria’s northeast, a region dominated by ISWAP since its 2016 split from Boko Haram.
This latest raid underscores the persistent threat militants pose despite ongoing military efforts to secure this volatile borderland around Lake Chad.
