Nigerian military strikes Boko Haram camps
February 19, 2015
The targets of the bombardment on Thursday included the town of Gwoza, where Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau first proclaimed the existence of a caliphate in Nigeria last summer, and the Sambisa Forest area, where the rebels have had camps for years.
"Today's air strikes which targeted Sambisa forests and parts of Gwoza have been highly successful," defense spokesman Chris Olukolade said. "The death of a large number of terrorists has been recorded while many others are also scampering all over the forest and out of the struck bases."
The Sambisa Forest is believed to be the area where more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April last year were taken before being divided into groups and moved.
After a year in which Boko Haram seemed to be gaining ground, seizing swathes of territory, killing thousands of people and kidnapping hundreds of mostly women and children, the tide may now be turning against them, as neighboring countries plagued by cross-border attacks have become involved.
Niger, Chad and Cameroon are seeking to pin down Boko Haram within Nigeria's borders ahead of a ground-and-air offensive by a regional task-force due to start from the end of next month.
Military chiefs will meet in Chad's capital N'Djamena next week to finalize plans for an 8,700-strong task-force of troops from Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin and Niger to fight the Islamists.
Nigerian forces backed by air power killed more than 300 Boko Haram fighters during an operation to recapture 11 towns and villages since the start of the week, the military said earlier this week, although it was not possible to corroborate this. The military has been accused of exaggerating enemy casualties and understating its own and those of civilians.
jil/kms (Reuters, AFP, dpa)