By Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

Nine people, including five soldiers were killed in an ambush by the Boko Haram militant group in northeast Nigeria’s Borno State Sunday, the military said Monday.

Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman said in a statement the ambush took place in the remote Ugundiri Village in southern Borno when troops were returning from a "clearance operation" in the area Sunday.

"Unfortunately, five soldiers, three vigilantes and one civilian JTF [Joint Task Force] lost their lives during the ambush, while 19 soldiers and one civilian JTF sustained various degrees of injuries," Usman said.

The “Civilian Joint Task Force” is a state-backed group trained by the military to fight alongside it against Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on the military on counter-insurgency operation in Nigerian northeast in recent times. At least 39, soldiers went "missing" after Boko Haram launched attack on a military base in the northern part of Borno barely two weeks back, according to the commander of the national operation to end Boko Haram, Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor.