By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Several Boko Haram militants have been killed and ten camps fallen as government troops intensified operations to flush the militant group out of its hideouts in the northeastern region, the Nigerian army said Sunday.
"An unconfirmed number of terrorists died on Saturday as ten additional camps used by terrorists were overrun in the continuing offensive operations in Sambisa forest," Defense Spokesman Chris Olukolade said.
"The Dure camp – one of the most prominent camps in the forest – witnessed the fiercest battle as special forces descended heavily on it before it finally fell," he added in a statement.
Olukolade noted that at least a soldier was killed and two others injured by a landmine.
He said four Boko Haram camps were in Iza locality within the forest, while three other camps were believed to have been recently set up by the militants.
"The terrorists lost a number of vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns as well as armored vehicles," the defense spokesman said.
"Some of the terrorists who escaped from the camps also died as they ran into an ambush," he added.
He noted that the troops were on alert as fleeing militants engaged in suicide attacks.
"Some of the fleeing terrorists have engaged in suicide missions at Bitta where they encountered the Nigerian troops across the border in Niger Republic," he said.
"The operation to clear the terrorists in Sambisa and other forests is continuing as troops in all fronts have been alerted to be on the lookout for fleeing terrorists," he added.
He said Nigeria's air force maintained an active air surveillance to track the movement of Boko Haram militants for appropriate action as the operation continues.
As Nigeria intensified the operation to decimate Boko Haram, nearly 1,000 hostages have been freed from the Sambisa hideouts of the militants.
Olukolade said recently that the operations sought to free all hostages and clear the militants from Nigerian territories.
After a months-long lull following heavy bombardment of their hideouts, the militants have in the past few days staged skeletal attacks in some parts of northeastern Borno and Yobe, mostly deploying suicide bombers to gain entry.
At least 50 people died in attacks on villages near Maiduguri, capital of Borno, last week, while nine persons died from a suicide attack in Damaturu in Yobe state.
The army dismissed the attacks as tactics to divert the attention of troops plummeting their strongholds across the region.
