Armed fighters from Boko Haram carried out a coordinated attack using weaponised drones on a Nigerian Army convoy in Monguno, killing a senior officer and several soldiers, according to military sources.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday as troops under Sector 3 of Operation Hadin Kai moved to reinforce a Forward Operating Base (FOB) reportedly under heavy insurgent pressure.
Sources said the convoy, led by the Commanding Officer of the 242 Battalion, Colonel I.A. Mohammed, came under attack at about 2 a.m. The assailants deployed drones fitted with explosives, striking the moving vehicles and causing significant casualties.
A military officer familiar with the incident said the drones used in the হামattack were difficult to detect and capable of delivering precision strikes. He added that such systems resemble those deployed in conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.
“The convoy was on a reinforcement mission when it was hit. Explosive devices were dropped from drones directly onto the vehicles,” the source said.
Colonel Mohammed was said to have personally led the reinforcement team after receiving reports that troops at the FOB were under sustained attack. However, he was killed before reaching the location.
Additional accounts indicated that the ambush also involved a planted improvised explosive device (IED) along the route. The device was reportedly detonated remotely as the convoy approached, compounding the impact of the drone strikes.
Casualty figures among the soldiers remain unclear as of the time of filing this report.
Monguno is considered a strategic military hub in northeastern Nigeria, hosting multiple units engaged in counterinsurgency operations. The targeted FOB plays a critical role in securing surrounding communities.
The attack underscores growing concerns about the evolving capabilities of insurgent groups in the region. In recent years, there have been warnings from security and political figures about the increasing use of drones by militants, raising questions about the military’s preparedness to counter such threats.
Nigeria has battled an insurgency in the North-East for over a decade, with periodic escalations in violence despite ongoing military operations.
