At least 22 Nigerian soldiers killed as insurgents counter military assault

PHOTO CAPTION: A Soldier in the Nigerian Army posts as a lookout during a drill as part of FLINTLOCK 20 in Thies, Senegal Feb. 16, 2020. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean Castellano via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

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ABUJA (Reuters) -At least 22 soldiers have been killed and several wounded in Nigeria's northeast after insurgents deployed improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers to ward off attacks by the military, the army spokesperson Edward Buba said.

The Nigerian military said late on Sunday that it had launched an assault 10 days ago against insurgents in the northeast and killed over 70 militants including three commanders. 

Buba said government forces also shot down drones used by the insurgents.

Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants have mainly operated in Borno state, targeting security forces and civilians in an insurgency that has killed and displaced tens of thousands of people.

On Friday, suspected Islamist insurgents killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, in an attack on an army base in a remote Borno town, according to security sources and local residents.

An Islamist insurgency has plagued the northeast of Africa's most populous country for 16 years, while kidnapping and banditry are rampant in the northwest and gang and separatist violence is common in the southeast.

(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Mark Heinrich)