At least 12 Boko Haram terrorists killed in Niger
Niger’s military says it has killed at least 12 terrorists belonging to the Nigeria-based Boko Haram Takfiri group in a gun fight with the militants in a border area.
The clashes occurred in the southeastern region of Bosso near the border with Nigeria, where the terror group has been wreaking havoc for the past seven years.
Around a dozen terrorists were killed and several dozen others were wounded and carried away by the fleeing attackers, a statement read by Nigerien army spokesman Colonel Moustapha Ledru said on Saturday.
The army troops also seized a number of machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and cell phones from the terrorists.
According to local resident Ibrahim Chetima, civilians living in the area took shelter in the nearby woods from the battle which lasted about 15 hours.
The border rural commune of Bosso, located in Niger’s southeast Diffa region, is home to thousands of refugees and internally-displaced people, fleeing Boko Harm’s atrocities in neighboring Nigeria’s embattled Borno State.
The region has witnessed several attacks in recent months. The terrorists infiltrate into Niger after crossing the Komadugu Yobe River, which separates the two countries.
Niger’s army has been battling Boko Haram militants in the volatile region since February last year.
The country has joined a regional military alliance alongside Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria against Boko Haram elements, whose violence has spilled over into several African nations.
In January 2016, Niger’s army chief said that the landlocked West African country was close to winning the war against Boko Haram.
Boko Haram says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government. It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of the country since the beginning of its militancy in 2009.
An estimated 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million others made homeless during its reign of terror.
The Takfiri terrorist group has spread its attacks from its traditional stronghold in northeastern Nigeria to the neighboring countries of Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.
The terrorists have pledged allegiance to the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, which is primarily wreaking havoc in Syria and Iraq.
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