Women and Children among hundreds abducted by Islamic militants in Nigeria, officials say
Source by : Sky News Hub
Friday 6 March 2026 20:30, UK
Women and Children among hundreds abducted by Islamic militants in Nigeria, officials say
Militant fighters assaulted the town of Ngoshe on Friday in a likely retaliation for the killing of three Boko Haram commanders by the military.
Nigerian troops pictured earlier this year. File pic: Reuters
More than 300 people, including women and children, have been abducted by Islamic militants who attacked a town in northeastern Nigeria, officials have said.
Militant fighters stormed the town of Ngoshe in Borno state on Friday, Bulama Sawa, an official from the Gwoza area said.
No group has claimed responsibility, but it was likely in retaliation for the killing of three commanders of the Boko Haram militant group by Nigeria's military, he said.
Separate attacks also took place in the communities of Konduga, Marte, Jakana and Mainok between Wednesday and Friday, according to military spokesman Uba Sani.
He said troops repelled those attacks, but a "number of brave soldiers paid the supreme price in the line of duty", along with a senior officer.
Mr Sani did not elaborate on military casualties and there was no detail on casualties resulting from the incident.
He described the assaults as "failed attacks" which illustrated the "increasing desperation of terrorist elements under sustained operational pressure" across the theatre.
Mass kidnappings are increasingly common in Nigeria, with armed gangs targeting remote communities where security and government presence is limited.
Ulf Laessing, from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation thinktank, said that the military struggles to control large parts of the country where jihadi groups operate.
Militants are also using drones to scout out targets and benefiting from increased cross-border cooperation between groups, he said, adding that the army "is fighting a ghost - fighters descending with motorbikes on villages and disappearing into the bush before the army can respond in time".
Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province.
There is also the IS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other "bandit" groups that specialise in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.
Recently, the crisis has worsened to include other militants from the neighbouring Sahel region, including the Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil last year.
Several thousand people in Nigeria have been killed, according to data from the United Nations.
Analysts say not enough is being done by the government to protect its citizens.
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