By Adewale Kolawole
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, April 29 (Reuters) – Nigerian troops killed at least 18 Islamist militants and destroyed several insurgent enclaves in coordinated operations across Borno state, the military said on Wednesday, as security forces intensify pressure on Islamist groups in the northeast.
Borno, which is roughly the same size as Ireland, has endured an insurgency waged by Boko Haram and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province for 17 years that has killed thousands and displaced 2 million people.
Military spokesperson Sani Uba said troops working with air force units and local auxiliaries carried out offensives in the Timbuktu axis and Bulabulin forest, targeting hideouts and supply networks. Eleven militants were killed in Bulabulin and seven in the Timbuktu area, Uba said in a statement.
The operations form part of an ongoing campaign aimed at dismantling insurgent strongholds across the region after a recent assault on military bases that killed several troops including senior officers.
Air support provided surveillance and precision strikes, while follow-up operations were under way to track escaping fighters, Uba said.
(Reporting by Adewale Kolawole in Maiduguri; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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