Dozens of Boko Haram, ISWAP fighters killed in Nigeria

Defence ministry spokesman says 134 fighters killed in Operation Kantana Jimlan in the country’s northeast.

ISWAP, Nigeria
Boko Haram launched its fight in 2009 in northeast Nigeria but later spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon [File: Audu Marte/AFP]

Nigeria has killed 134 members of the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) armed groups.

John Enenche, Nigeria’s defence ministry spokesman, told reporters on Monday the fighters were killed in Operation Kantana Jimlan, which was launched on May 1 in the country’s northeast.

ISWAP is a splinter group of Boko Haram.

He said 78 of those killed were members of ISWAP and 56 were Boko Haram members, adding that Nigerian troops arrested 16 informants of the fighters as the country aims to eradicate both armed groups from its territory.

Lots of ammunition was also seized during the operation, he said.

Regional violence

Boko Haram launched its fight in 2009 in northeast Nigeria but later spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a military response.

More than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly three million displaced in a decade of Boko Haram’s activities in Nigeria, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Violence committed by Boko Haram has affected about 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and displaced 2.6 million others, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Source: News Agencies