MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA �

Around 10 military personnel were killed and a similar number of geological surveyors were missing after Boko Haram extremists attacked an oil convoy in northern Nigeria, authorities said Wednesday.

The ambush comes several weeks after the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation’s management announced it was resuming oil exploration around Lake Chad following assurances by Nigeria’s military that the security situation had improved in the area once under Boko Haram’s control.

Insurgents dressed in uniforms

The secretary of the Hunters Association in Borno State, Bunu Bukar, said members of the self-defense group saw the bodies of military personnel after the ambush Tuesday.

What I can confidently confirm to you is that the insurgents came in new vehicles and fully dressed in military uniforms, Bukar said.

The military and self-defense group were providing security for the oil exploration workers.

No comment from Nigeria military

Nigeria’s military did not immediately comment on the ambush.

NNPC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu said only one of 10 geological surveyors who were abducted had been found.

Boko Haram’s eight-year insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people and continues to carry out deadly attacks despite the government’s declaration late last year that the extremists had been crushed.

Source: Voice of America