The Nigerian troops fighting terrorists in the north-east have inflicted another crushing defeat on Boko Haram militants at the Sambisa Forest, in a major offensive against insurgency.
Military authorities said ground troops and fighter pilots on Sunday, killed a large number of the terrorists in an operation described as ‘merciless’.
Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced by the militant group in the last six years, which at its height, saw the terrorists control some towns in Nigeria’s North-east region.
Meanwhile, the troops overran 10 camps used by the Islamist terrorists in the Sambisa Forest on Saturday, prior to the Sunday offensive.
Speaking in an interview with media in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, revealed that four of the camps were located at Izad, within the Sambisa Forest, while three others were being established by the terrorists, before the military assault began.
“The Nigerian Air force is maintaining an active air surveillance to track the movement of terrorists for appropriate action as the operation continues,” the army spokesman said in a statement.
A soldier was said to have died in the encounter, while two others sustained serious injuries.
However, the military’s renewed offensive in the area is in line with the government’s promise of cleaning up the Sambisa Forest before the handover date of May 29.
