Boko Haram ambush kills seven Nigerian soldiers

Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A Boko Haram ambush in northeastern Nigeria killed seven army recruits and injured 20 more, with three soldiers missing, an army officer said.

A convoy of army trucks and buses, carrying about 250 troops, was traveling through Nigeria's northeastern Borno state on Thursday when it was attacked by soldiers of the militant Islamist group. A prolonged firefight ended before the army could send reinforcements. The Boko Haram troops stole a variety of military supplies from the convoy before it fled into surrounding foliage, army sources told the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times. They added that one of the missing Nigerian army soldiers is a woman.

Most of the army soldiers involved in the ambush were recruits who recently finished their initial training. The attack occurred 30 miles east of the Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri in Borno state.

The Nigerian Army confirmed the attack, adding that an unspecified number of Boko Haram fighters were killed.