Landmine Kills Eight Nigerian Soldiers Near Gamboru as Islamic State Claims Mairari Base Attack

Eight Nigerian soldiers were killed on Saturday 17 October 2026 when their patrol vehicle hit a landmine in Kinuba village, about 25 km from Gamboru near the Cameroon border in Borno State, defence sources told AFP. The sources blamed Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). On the same day the Islamic State group claimed this week’s assault on the army base at Mairari, saying it killed 21 personnel, and the Chief of Army Staff flew to Maiduguri to visit troops. Here is what each source says, and what the Nigerian military has and hasn’t confirmed.

Cover: abstract briefing graphic (DefenceMENA).

The Kinuba landmine: what AFP’s sources say

According to AFP, as carried by Daily Trust and TheCable:

• The troops were checking on anti-jihadist militia members who were clearing thickets along the highway outside Gamboru when their vehicle rolled over the mine.
• “All eight soldiers in the vehicle were killed in the explosion,” a military officer in the region said.
• Ibrahim Liman, a militia member working with the army, gave the same toll. He said the device “was planted on the dusty road and remotely detonated by a detonating cord”, and that a militia member supervising the clearing was hurt by shrapnel.
• The defence sources blamed ISWAP, which is active in the area. Fighters use the roadside thickets as cover for ambushes on troops and motorists, which is why militia members were clearing them.

The toll comes from an unnamed officer and a militia member speaking to AFP. In the reporting we reviewed, we found no statement on the blast from Defence Headquarters or Operation Hadin Kai, and no claim from ISWAP.

Islamic State claims the Mairari base attack

Also on Saturday, the Islamic State group said on Telegram that it carried out Tuesday night’s attack on the army base in Guzamala Local Government Area and killed 21 personnel, Reuters reported. That is close to the toll an unnamed officer gave AFP, which was 15 soldiers and five Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members. It is roughly double the “at least 10 soldiers” killed and 20 wounded that Reuters reported from military sources and residents.

Three accounts of the death toll now exist. The army has not published a figure. The claim also points to the Islamic State side of the insurgency, meaning ISWAP, rather than Boko Haram’s JAS faction, which Reuters’ sources and local officials had named. A claim from the group is not independent verification, though. Our Mairari explainer sets out each account in detail.

The army chief’s visit to Maiduguri

Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, the Chief of Army Staff, arrived at the Operation Hadin Kai headquarters in Maimalari cantonment, Maiduguri, on 17 October. He told reporters the visit was “just routine to see how the troops are operating in the North East”, Channels Television reported. He also told troops that Army headquarters would “provide you all the enablers to ensure that you do your job properly”, and he met Borno Governor Babagana Zulum.

AFP linked the trip to the Mairari losses. Channels linked it to a directive from President Bola Tinubu, announced on 15 October by Defence Minister Christopher Musa, ordering security chiefs to rescue all abductees nationwide, leave “no camp of any terrorists or bandits anywhere in Nigeria”, and secure the general elections scheduled for January.

Why roadside mines matter in Borno

AFP noted that ISWAP and its rival Boko Haram have increasingly planted mines on highways against military and civilian traffic. A command-detonated device on a cleared road, set off by cord rather than by pressure, suggests fighters were watching the clearing work and chose their moment. Command-wire detonation also gets around radio-frequency jammers, which only block remotely triggered devices.

The blast came in a bad week for troops in the north-east. Fighters overran Mairari on 13–14 October, and earlier in October there were attacks on the special forces base at Kukawa and on FOB Garaha in Adamawa. The air force says it struck ISWAP at Badu. Roadside mines are also why mine-protected vehicles are in such demand in the region. Our guide to Nigeria’s armoured vehicle fleet covers what the army operates.

What to watch

• An official Operation Hadin Kai or Defence Headquarters statement on Kinuba and Mairari, including figures for missing soldiers.
• Whether ISWAP claims the Kinuba blast, and whether troops reoccupy the Mairari position.
• Follow-up operations around Gamboru and Lake Chad after the army chief’s visit.

Sources

• Daily Trust / AFP: Soldiers killed as military van runs into ISWAP landmine in Borno (18 October 2026)
• TheCable / AFP: Eight soldiers killed as patrol vehicle hits ‘ISWAP landmine’ in Borno (18 October 2026)
• Reuters (via Devdiscourse): Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly attack on military camp in Nigeria (17 October 2026)
• Al Jazeera Arabic: Islamic State says it killed 21 soldiers in attack on army base in Nigeria (18 October 2026)
• Africanews / AFP: Nigeria’s Army Chief of Staff visits troops in Borno after deaths of 15 soldiers (18 October 2026)
• Channels Television: Troops are doing their best to restore normalcy in North East, COAS (17 October 2026)
• DefenceMENA: ISWAP overruns Nigerian base at Mairari, Borno