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No group quickly claimed credit for the incident in the Karimama district near the Niger border.
Northern Benin, like its neighbors Ghana, Togo, and Ivory Coast, has seen an increase in the possibility of conflict spilling over its border from Sahelian Islamists.
“We lost two of our men on Tuesday. It wasn’t an attack but they drove over a homemade landmine,” the military source said.
A police source in the area and a local resident both confirmed the information.
The Benin army did not respond immediately, but the incident was covered by two local private newspapers.
Northern Benin shares borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, where Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants are fighting conflicts.
Following a coup in Niger in July, French troops stationed there have begun to evacuate, raising concerns about rising insecurity in the Sahel area.
Since January of last year, Benin authorities have sent 3,000 troops to fortify the border.
Benin’s government rarely makes public pronouncements about border violence, although officials admitted in April that they have observed roughly 20 incursions from across the border since 2021.
