Kano, Nigeria: Nigeria’s military said yesterday it has killed 35 suspected Boko Haram Islamists in a crackdown on the insurgent group in the northeastern city of Damaturu.
“The Joint Task Force has succeeded in killing 35 Boko Haram terrorists in shootouts between Sunday evening through Monday,” said Lieutenant Lazarus Eli, a military spokesman in Yobe state, of which Damaturu is the capital.
A round-the-clock curfew was imposed in the city late on Saturday, ahead of the operation that also led to the arrest of 60 suspected Boko Haram members.
The curfew has been relaxed and residents are now allowed out of their homes from 7am to 10pm, Eli said.
Military forces went door-to-door through three Damaturu neighbourhoods begining late on Sunday and engaged militants “in a fierce exchange of gunfire” through to the early hours of yesterday morning, the spokesman added in a statement.
Two soldiers were injured in the fighting. AFP
