Nigerian military kills scores of Boko Haram militants in gunfight: spokesman

Abuja (Nigeria), January 17: Scores of Boko Haram militants were killed in a gunfight with Nigerian troops at a military formation in the country's northeastern state of Borno, said a spokesman for the armed forces on Saturday.
Benard Onyeuko, the spokesman for the military in the restive northeast region, told Xinhua that the gunfight followed an attempt by the militants to attack the troops' location at the outskirts of Marte town in Borno late Friday.
An unconfirmed number of the terrorists died during the gunfight as the troops, acting on reliable information about the attack, had positioned themselves in an ambush site where they tactically swooped on the militants and opened fire, Onyeuko said.
This led to the fierce battle that resulted in the success against the terrorists, he said.
According to the military's mouthpiece, at least seven gun trucks belonging to the terrorists were also destroyed during the encounter.
"The troops are still engaged in the pursuit of the fleeing terrorists for further exploitation," he added.
The Boko Haram group has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009. The deadly group has also extended its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin.
Source: Xinhua