Dozens of Boko Haram militants were killed in separate airstrikes by the Nigerian military in recent operations within the country’s northeast region and along the fringes of the Lake Chad, said an official on Tuesday.
John Enenche, spokesman for the Nigerian military, told the media in Abuja that the operations launched since Aug. 16 were aimed to rout out the terrorists from the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest areas of Borno, in the Nigerian northern region.
Enenche said several terrorists were killed while the hideouts and logistics structures of the Boko Haram were also destroyed at Tumbuma Baba and Boboshe areas in Borno at the beginning of the operation codenamed “Hail Storm.”
The military spokesman said several Boko Haram militants and their leaders were killed in one of the Island settlements on the fringes of the Lake Chad, following intelligence reports.
“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets dispatched to attack the location scored devastating hits on the settlement, killing several of the terrorists and destroying their structures,” he said.
He said several terrorists were also killed and some of their dwellings destroyed at another village along the river line on the eastern part of the Sambisa Forest, as the NAF jets took turns in engaging the location.
Since 2009, Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin.
