Foreign Boko Haram commander, 29 militants killed: Nigeria

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS 

Nigerian authorities announced on Monday that around 30 Boko Haram militants had been killed, including a suspected foreign commander, in a weekend encounter with the army.

"Thousands of euros were found on the body of a terrorist commander after troops successfully repelled a terrorist on Mafa towards the border," defense spokesman Chris Olukolade said in a statement.

"The terrorist, who is also an emir by status and believed to be of foreign descent, is among about 30 terrorist fighters who died in the encounter while many others fled with wounds," he added.

The spokesman said the army had seized 13 rifles, a machine gun, rocket propelled grenade tubes and assorted ammunition from the militants.

"A Toyota Bufallo vehicle was also recovered from the terrorists, while two of their armored vehicles were also destroyed in the battle," he added.

"Meanwhile, the offensive on all terrorist hideouts is continuing on many fronts," said Olukolade.

The Nigerian military – backed by Nigerien and Chadian troops – recently liberated all territory captured earlier by Boko Haram in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

In the face of the government's recent onslaught, Boko Haram militants are believed to have retreated back into the forest.

The forest extends from Borno State into parts of Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe states – all in the northeast – and into parts of Jigawa State and elsewhere in the country's northwest.

The army has urged Nigerians to be vigilant, claiming the militants are fleeing the theater of operations and deploying underage children as suicide bombers.