*Says more than 70 wounded insurgents currently being pursued

The Nigerian Army says it has killed more than 50 Boko Haram militants following coordinated drone strikes on military bases across the North-East.

Army spokesperson, Major Sani Uba, disclosed in a statement on Thursday that the insurgents had launched simultaneous attacks on military formations in Borno and Yobe states earlier in the day.

He said the militants, who advanced from northern Cameroon and Katarko village in Yobe State, were repelled through combined ground and aerial operations.

“Ground troops, supported by the Air Component, are still in pursuit of over 70 wounded terrorists in close coordination,” Uba added.

The fresh offensive comes weeks after Boko Haram fighters killed at least 60 people in a night raid on Darul Jamal, a community in Nigeria’s North-East.

Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown jihadist group, began its insurgency in 2009 with the goal of overthrowing Western education and imposing a radical form of Islamic law, or Sharia.

Over the years, the conflict has spilled into neighbouring countries, including Niger, and claimed more than 35,000 civilian lives while displacing over two million people, according to United Nations estimates.

The group fractured in 2021 after the death of its longtime leader, Abubakar Shekau, leading to the rise of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction, which is backed by the Islamic State and notorious for targeting military positions.

In a related development, the United States recently approved a potential $346 million weapons sale to bolster Nigeria’s counterterrorism and regional security operations.