The multinational force, made up of troops from Nigeria, Nigeria and Cameroon, said Sunday that more than 100 jihadists, including their 10 commanders, had been killed in recent weeks as part of a large-scale air and ground operation in the coastal region. .
Rebels from Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (IKDA), an organization born when the former split, have been fighting the Nigerian army for more than a decade. The conflict has spread to neighboring states.
A spokesman for the so-called Multinational Joint Force, Colonel Mohammad Dole, said its units had operated in rebel-held areas of Lake Chad and seized weapons, food and drugs.
“During this operation, more than a hundred terrorists have been neutralized, including 10 of their top commanders (…) following deadly airstrikes based on intelligence gathered,” the spokesman said.
Colonel Dole did not specify when the operation began, or whether there were any casualties in the ranks of the force. He said 18 soldiers had been injured by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by guerrillas as they retreated.
The jihadist insurgency, centered in northeastern Nigeria, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and uprooted millions of civilians.
Last week, the US government approved the sale of nearly $ 1 billion worth of weapons to Nigeria. Members of Congress had frozen the deal amid concerns about human rights abuses by Nigerian security forces.
Boko Haram is in retreat after the death of Abubakar Sekau’s leader last May in a battle with an IKDA fighter. According to Nigerian authorities, thousands of insurgents and their families have since surrendered.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
