Nigerian troops were forced to retreat from Boko Haram’s Sambisa Forest stronghold in the restive northeast after a landmine blast killed one soldier and three vigilantes, security sources said Thursday.
Military top brass said on Wednesday that soldiers were conducting offensives “in some forest locations” in the area after it was announced last week that operations were imminent.
The Sambisa Forest is located in the state of Borno, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the town of Chibok, from where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in April last year.