The Nigerian military announced on Friday that it had killed 16 Boko Haram militants during a nighttime operation in the northeastern state of Borno.
According to a statement by army spokesperson Major Onyechi Anele, troops engaged the insurgents with sustained indirect fire around 1:00 a.m. in Damboa Local Government Area. The operation, which also involved air support, was launched after a Brigade came under attack.
Anele confirmed that an ammunition depot was struck during the exchange but said the situation was swiftly contained with no further escalation.
Boko Haram, a long-standing terror group based in Nigeria’s northeast, continues to pose a significant threat across the Lake Chad region, including parts of Chad, Niger, Cameroon, and Mali. The group has been responsible for thousands of deaths and widespread displacement over the past decade.
Borno State has seen a recent resurgence in Boko Haram activity, including the use of improvised explosive devices to target both security forces and civilians.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, revealed that 15,543 insurgents have been killed nationwide during the first two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Ribadu shared the figures during a national summit of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) held Thursday to mark the government’s two-year milestone.