TheCable

Boko Haram insurgents have ambushed troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, escorting commercial vehicles from Maiduguri to Damboa in Borno state.

A military source told TheCable that the incident led to the death of eight civilians and two soldiers.

Two commercial vehicles were reportedly hijacked by the insurgents and driven into Sambisa forest.

The bodies of the victims, including the two soldiers, were brought to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital morgue on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Airforce has deployed 390 of its personnel as part of its contribution to the joint task force (JTF) in the north-east counter terrorism war.

They are to relieve another set of 390 of their colleagues upon completion of a six months operation with the land army in the theatre of operations code named ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’.

“For those of you who are just coming you will be deployed to the 7 DIV Garrison where your further deployment will be fine. There are different sectors under which we operate” the force said in a statement.

“Administratively you are under us, operationally you will be under the army for the period of the next six months. What is expected of you is high discipline that the Nigerian air force is known for. Maintain your rules of engagement and make sure you stay out of trouble.

“If you have administrative issues or problems get across to us through the normal channels the group admin officer will attend to you”.