Suicide bomber kills five soldiers in northeast Nigeria

A suicide bomber struck a military position in northeastern Nigeria near the border with Cameroon, killing at least five soldiers, security and local defence sources said.

The attacker targeted a military position in Firgi near the town of Pulka in Borno state on Sunday, sources told AFP on Tuesday morning.

Terrorists have intensified attacks on military bases in the northeast this year.

Umar Sa'idu, a community member, said five people died shortly after the terrorist attack.

Attacker 'shot', military says

"After some hours, medical personnel at UMTH (University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital) confirmed that all five victims we gave escort to had died," he told AFP by phone.

Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, the military's spokesperson in the northeast, confirmed the attack.

"Our gallant soldiers shot the attacker when he attempted to carry out the bombing in their own position," Uba told AFP.

"Unfortunately, our gallant soldiers sustained varying degrees of injury and are currently receiving medical care."

Bomb detonation

Sa'idu said the bomber was a suspected Boko Haram terrorist thought to have come from nearby Mandara Mountains.

According to Bukar Aji, a local hunter, the assailant approached the soldiers and detonated an explosive device strapped to his body.

Police confirmed the attack, but did not give details.

Pulka lies close to the Mandara Mountains, a border region that stretches between Nigeria and Cameroon.

Other deadly attacks

The last major suicide attack in Nigeria came in June when a woman allegedly acting for Boko Haram killed 20 anti-terrorism forces in Borno state.

In January, military sources said at least 27 soldiers were killed in a terrorist blast in a wasteland straddling Borno and Yobe states, one of the deadliest suicide attacks on Nigerian soldiers in recent years.