Nigeria says killed over 35 jihadists near Cameroon border

ABUJA

Nigeria's air force said it had killed more than 35 jihadists in raids on Aug. 23 on militant fighters that had gathered near the Nigeria-Cameroon border following an attempted attack on ground troops.

The air strike was the latest by the Nigerian military, which is battling a resurgence of attacks in the country's embattled northeast.

The region faces frequent attacks from the jihadist fighters of Boko Haram and its rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

"Acting on multiple intelligence from several sources, the Air Component executed precision strikes in successive passes, engaging the terrorists and neutralizing more than 35 fighters at four identified assembly areas," said a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) statement.

They had reestablished communication with the ground troops that had been threatened and they confirmed that the "situation around their location had been stabilized," the statement added.

Both ISWAP and Boko Haram have recently ramped up their assaults on the military in northeast Nigeria where they have also overrun military bases, killing soldiers and seizing weapons.

The northeast region, which neighbors Cameroon, Chad and Niger, has been the site of frequent attacks from the jihadist fighters of Boko Haram and ISWAP.

A claim last week by the military in neighboring Niger that it had killed Boko Haram leader in a targeted airstrike in the Lake Chad basin, was over the weekend dismissed by a close aide to the head of jihadist group.