The Nigerian military killed more than 50 Boko Haram militants in response to drone attacks on military bases in the country’s northeast, the army said Thursday.
Army spokesperson Sani Uba said in a statement that militants launched simultaneous attacks on military bases in Borno and Yobe states in the early morning hours on 3rd October. It added that a combination of ground and air assaults enabled the military to defeat the militants who launched their attacks from northern Cameroon and Katarko, a village located in Yobe State.
The spokesperson added that more than 70 wounded militants are still being pursued by ground troops, backed by the Air Component, “in close coordination.”
In northeast Nigeria, the Boko Haram militants killed at least 60 people in a nighttime attack on Darul Jamal village last month.
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown jihadis, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law or Sharia.
The violence of the decade-long conflict has overspilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbours, including Niger, and around 35,000 civilians have died while more than 2 million others have been displaced, according to the United Nations.
After the death of Abubakar Shekau, the insurgent group’s longtime leader, in 2021, the group broke into two rival factions.
One faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province, affiliated with the Islamic State group, has become notorious for targeting military positions.
The U.S. has recently approved a possible $346 million weapons sale to improve security in Africa’s most populous country.
