Multinational troops kill 22 Boko Haram militants in Lake Chad region-Xinhua

Multinational troops kill 22 Boko Haram militants in Lake Chad region

Source: Xinhua| 2022-05-02 01:06:30|Editor: huaxia

LAGOS, May 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 22 militants of the extremist group Boko Haram were killed during a recent operation on the fringes of Lake Chad by troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a spokesperson has said.

In a statement reaching Xinhua on Sunday, Kamarudeen Adegoke, a MNJTF spokesperson, said troops of the regional joint task force attacked in the clearance operation some Boko Haram strongholds in the vicinity of Tumbun Rago, a town in the restive northeast Nigeria's Borno state and on the fringes of Lake Chad.

"Despite strong resistance by the Boko Haram terrorists, the ground troops charged through several obstacles and cleared the mined routes, which made them come in contact with elements of the insurgents," said Adegoke.

A battle damage assessment revealed at least 20 militants were killed in the operation, said Adegoke, adding two fleeing Boko Haram logisticians were also killed by the troops in a follow-up patrol in the area.

He said the MNJTF's recent combined ground and amphibious operations have put a lot of pressure on the extremists, denying them "freedom of movement and action". He promised that this would be maintained by the hardworking troops.

The MNJTF is a joint military effort created by countries including Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin to fight Boko Haram and the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP), which threaten the stability of the Lake Chad region.

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