Insurgents attacked the villages of Nkoe and Quinto Congresso in Cabo Delgado province's Macomia district on 12 and 13 July, battling with security forces and claiming to have killed one soldier in each attack.
On 13 July, insurgents fought a group of government security forces at Quinto Congresso, approximately 20km north of Macomia district headquarters, in a clash described as “intense” by a security consultant's report seen by Zitamar. According to this report, a large amount of arms and ammunition was stolen from the security forces position.
Islamic State (IS) social media channels published a statement boasting of attacking the security forces with machine guns, killing one soldier and wounding another. The statement came with two photos, one featuring a bloodied body in military-style uniform, and the other showing a stockpile of captured weapons and ammunition, including rocket propelled grenades and at least one mortar round.
The killing of the soldier has so far not been confirmed by other sources.
The day before, insurgents also attacked the village of Nkoe, about 14km to the west of Quinto Congresso. A local source told Zitamar that the attack resulted in no deaths but more than 100 houses were burned and at least five people were wounded, of which three required urgent care.
IS declared responsibility for an attack at Nkoe on the same day, but claimed to have targeted a patrol of Mozambican security forces, killing one soldier and wounding others with a grenade. This has not yet been corroborated.
The Mozambican Ministry of Defence declined to comment on either of the reported deaths.
Nkoe and Quinto Congresso have been repeatedly attacked in recent months. Previously, insurgents entered Nkoe on 23 June, set fire to several houses and killed at least three people.
