The Nigerian military has stated that it is currently carrying out an air raid on the notorious Sambisa forest and Gwoza, both in Borno state.
Speaking on the recent airstrikes on the dreaded Sambisa forest, the director of defence information, Major-General Chris Olukolade said, that the strikes has already resulted in the death of more Boko Haram militants, following the earlier killing of about 300 Boko Haram militants in “comprehensive military raids”.
“A concerted air campaign by the Nigerian air force is ongoing in furtherance of the mission to clear terrorists from all their enclaves,” he said.
“The air strikes which today targeted the training camps and logistics dumps of the terrorists in Sambisa forests and parts of Gwoza, have been highly successful as it achieved the aims with required precision.
“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,” defense spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade said.
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 has appeared to turn against them in the past month, as neighboring countries plagued by cross-border attacks have weighed in.
Nigerian forces have 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 on Wednesday, though it was not possible to independently verify this and the military has in the past been accused of exaggerating enemy casualties while understating its own.
Sambisa forest, it would be recalled gained notoriety last year when more than 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from a secondary school in nearby Chibok were taken there.
Some of them escaped Sambisa shortly afterwards but most have remained in captivity ever since.
Feb202015