ABUJA, (Reuters) – Nigeria’s military said yesterday it had killed at least 50 Islamist rebels fleeing towards Cameroon in a battle in which 15 of its own soldiers and five civilians also died.
Nigerian forces have stepped up an offensive in the volatile northeast in the past few days, after Boko Haram fighters armed with grenade launchers and anti-aircraft guns attacked an army barracks in the town of Bama on Friday.
Boko Haram is fighting to revive a medieval Islamic caliphate in today’s religiously-mixed Nigeria, a major oil producer and one of Africa’s largest economies. The group rarely talks to the media but occasionally sends video statements anonymously.
The military often reports significant casualties among insurgents, while rarely admitting losses among its own troops or civilians. The figures it gave for Monday’s battle near the Cameroon border could not immediately be verified.
