Confusion as Nigerian Air Force ‘mistakenly” kills 20 soldiers in Borno

No fewer than 20 operatives of the Nigerian army fighting Boko Haram insurgents have been mistakenly killed by an Air Force fighter jet who was targeting Boko Haram terrorists.

According to SaharaReporters, a military source disclosed to the news outlet that the soldiers were reinforced from Ngandu village were on their way to Mainok, headquarters of the Kaga Local Government Area of Borno state which was under attack by militants from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), before the unfortunate incident.

The outlet reported that the military source maintained that the bombing of the soldiers by the Nigerian airforce fighter jet was a mistake.

“The Boko Haram terrorists disguised in military uniform and gained access to the camp. They came in different groups and could not be counted. The Nigerian Army were pinned down, they requested for reinforcement, the reinforcement got on their way only to get smoked by the Nigerian Airforce.

“The (reinforcement team) was coming from Ngandu and were killed by an airstrike. The Air Force mistook them for Boko Haram as both were cladded in similar military uniform and operational vehicles,” SaharaReporters quoted the source as saying.