At least 16 Nigerian soldiers and two anti-jihadist militia have been killed in an ambush by IS-allied fighters on their patrol on a highway in northeast Borno State, two military sources told Agence France-Presse on Thursday (Friday in Manila). The attack was one of the deadliest this year by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Nigeria’s armed forces who are battling a grinding 12-year-old Islamist insurgency in the country’s northeast. Jihadists detonated roadside bombs before opening fire with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy weaponry on the convoy travelling on a highway between Borno state capital Maiduguri and Monguno garrison town, the sources said. Another military source said the jihadists had detonated seven improvised explosive devices planted in the road as the convoy drove past. He gave a similar casualty toll. ISWAP on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters killed 25 troops in an ambush on a military convoy, according to SITE, which monitors jihadist activities.