Boko Haram kills eight Nigerian soldiers, loots army base

April 21 (UPI) -- The insurgent Islamist group Boko Haram attacked a Nigerian army base, killing at least eight soldiers, a Nigerian newspaper reported Friday.

The army base at Sabon Gari, in northeastern Borno state, was sacked in two attacks, which began Monday when 200 Boko Haram fighters arrived on motorcycles and trucks with artillery guns, the Premium Times reported Friday. Five Nigerian soldiers were killed and four remain missing. Another assault Thursday, an ambush against troops on patrol, killed three more soldiers. The Boko Haram forces also removed weapons and ammunition from the base armory.

The Nigerian army offered no confirmation of the attack. On Tuesday it reported that six Boko Haram insurgents were killed in an army clearance operation in Borno state.

Boko Haram is involved in a seven-year insurgency in Nigeria and surrounding countries to establish an Islamic caliphate.