Niger announced that its troops killed 33 Boko Haram terrorists while at the same time seizing vehicles and weapons from the said militants in an operation in the Lake Chad region.
According to a statement issued by Niger’s defense ministry, A vehicle up-armored to be used as a suicide vehicle bomb was destroyed, while two other vehicles, two motorcycles, a 120-mm mortar, 10 AK-47 assault rifles, two 60mm shells and 3,736 rounds of all calibers were seized.
The operation was conducted in conjunction with Nigeria and other troops from the Multinational Joint Task Force. Nigeria’s Air Force said that NAF Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms and Alpha Jet attack aircraft in coordination with Niger’s Air Force ISR and attack aircraft supported ground troops from the Multinational Joint Task Force “to pursue and decimate” Islamic State West Africa province (ISWAP) militants on the fringes of Lake Chad.
The death of the militants comes as both factions of Boko Haram attempt to assert dominance with ISIS-acknowledged ISWAP suffering a leadership falling out. ISIS affiliates in the north and west Africa have been making radical moves in attempts to offer safe havens for fleeing fighters from the Middle East where the group is losing ground in Iraq and Syria.
