Seven Chadian soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in a lawless region where jihadist groups including Nigeria’s Boko Haram and an Islamic State offshoot are active.

President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said several other soldiers were injured in Monday’s blast in Tchoukou Telia in the restive Lake Chad region, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the capital N’Djamena.

“Their vehicle struck a mine while they were patrolling,” he said. “Seven soldiers were killed and several others injured”.

According to AFP report on Tuesday, Deby Itno took power after his father Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled Chad with an iron fist for more than 30 years, died in 2021 while fighting rebels.

He is a candidate in a May 6 presidential election and faces no real challenge as authorities this weekend barred 10 candidates, including two fierce opponents of the military regime, from standing.

The Chadian army regularly kills or captures jihadists in the Lake Chad region but also suffers losses though this has considerably decreased over the past year.

Lake Chad, a vast expanse of water and marshland, straddles the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

It has been the site of frequent attacks from fighters from Boko Haram as well as Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

AFP