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Nigeria army 'kills 300 Boko Haram fighters' | Nigeria army 'kills 300 Boko Haram fighters' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
More than 300 Boko Haram fighters have been killed in military operations in north-east Nigeria, the army says. | More than 300 Boko Haram fighters have been killed in military operations in north-east Nigeria, the army says. |
A number of militants had also been captured and weapons and equipment seized, defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said. | A number of militants had also been captured and weapons and equipment seized, defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said. |
Two soldiers lost their lives and 10 were wounded during the operation in Borno state, he added. The deaths have not been independently verified. | |
Meanwhile, AFP says up to 30 people have died in an air strike in Niger. | |
They were attending a funeral ceremony at a village near the Nigerian border when an unidentified plane began dropping bombs, local officials and humanitarian sources said. | |
It is not yet clear who was responsible for the bombardment, but Nigeria has denied responsibility. | |
"It's not to my knowledge and there has not been any report from our people of such an incident," said Dele Alonge, a spokesman for Nigeria's air force. | |
'Desperate response' | |
Niger has been the target of bombings in the past, blamed on Boko Haram since it widened its brutal insurgency. | |
Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed during the group's campaign for a breakaway Islamic state. | |
Niger, Chad and Cameroon have recently formed a military coalition with Nigeria to help combat the threat. | |
Nigerian forces have been accused of overstating enemy casualties in the past. | Nigerian forces have been accused of overstating enemy casualties in the past. |
But the two-day operation against militants in Borno State had inflicted "massive casualties", Mr Olukolade said. | |
He told the BBC he was not surprised Boko Haram was continuing to carry out attacks despite "heat" from coalition troops. | |
"What you see are elements of their desperate response to the ongoing onslaught on their various camps and locations. | |
"It is expected and it will be contained accordingly," he added. |