YAOUNDE
Cameroonian army forces have killed 40 Boko Haram militants in the country's far north after the latter tried to attack an army convoy near the Nigerian border, a military official said Tuesday.
"Dozens of Boko Haram militants on Monday afternoon raided the Cameroonian town of Fotokol near the border with Nigeria," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Didier Badjeck told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
"The gunmen opened fire on a column of Cameroonian soldiers who, in turn, fired back. At least 40 Boko Haram militants were killed during the exchange of fire and two cars [belonging to] the attackers were captured and burnt," Badjeck said.
One Cameroonian soldier was injured in the exchange, he added.
The remaining attackers subsequently withdrew to Nigeria, the spokesman said, adding that calm had since been restored to Fotokol.
The Nigeria-based militant group has already been blamed for several previous cross-border attacks in Cameroon.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in Nigeria's local Hausa language, first emerged in the early 2000s preaching against government misrule and corruption.
The group later became violent, however, after the death of its leader in 2009 while in police custody.
In the five years since, the shadowy sect has been blamed for numerous attacks – on places of worship and government institutions – and thousands of deaths.
By Anne Mireille Nzouankeu
www.aa.com.tr/en
