Boko Haram Commander and 200 of His Fighters Reportedly Killed in Clash With Nigerian Forces — 'Rare' Victory for Government

The feared militant and 200 other fighters died in a battle on Friday in the state of Borno state, birthplace of the extremist group

Boko Haram fighter. (Screen capture from YouTube video)

By AP
A leading commander of Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has been killed along with 200 other militants in a rare victory for Nigeria’s armed forces, according to reports.

One Nigerian army officer said a feared commander known only as Amir was among the dead after a battle on Friday in Konduga town, 35 kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and birthplace of the extremist group.

Also killed were a Boko Haram video journalist and a suicide bomber, he said.

There were no military casualties, according to the officer and a civilian self-defence group that fights alongside the soldiers. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to reporters.

Boko Haram has captured a string of towns in recent weeks stretching over 320 kilometres alongside Nigeria’s north-east border with Cameroon in a new campaign to create an Islamic caliphate, mimicking the Isis group in Syria and Iraq.

The extremists also have attacked a town and villages across the border in Cameroon, but that country’s state radio said Cameroonian troops beat them off and forced them back across the border into Nigeria.

Read More