The gunmen also carted away an ambulance and a military vehicle which was later abandoned near the community after it was razed down.
A soldier and one policeman were killed and an unspecified number of security operatives injured when militants of the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, attacked the Forward Operational Base (FOB) in Molai, Borno State.
SaharaReporters learnt that the gunmen also carted away an ambulance and a military vehicle which was later abandoned near the community after it was razed down.
Molai is located at the outskirt of Maiduguri, about 7 km away.
The insurgents were said to have invaded the town after iftar, the meal eaten by Muslims after sunset during Ramadan.
“They stated shooting sporadically as residents of the community flee into the forest for safety.
“Though a military base, it was manned by joint task force Operation Hadin Kai comprising of soldiers and mobile policemen.
“They shot and fired RPGs when they came, even some of the soldiers fled,” a military source said.
Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands and displaced millions in North-Eastern Nigeria.
The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency had been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.
In the past months, soldiers have been targeted by the insurgents, who waylay them.
Hundreds of soldiers and officers have been reportedly killed since January 2022.