Nigerian army says it killed top Boko Haram commander

ANKARA (AA) - Nigerian military announced that its killed a top Boko Haram commander during an operation recently, local media reported Monday.

“... it is gratifying to note that own communication intercepted and confirmed by accurate intelligence that a top Boko Haram commander, Abu Usamah, was among those Boko Haram insurgents killed during that encounter,” Daily Post quoted a military statement, referring to the operation against Boko Haram on March 22.

The operation was carried out in Gorgi, the Damboa local government area of northeastern Borno state.

Apart from the top commander, the operation also left more than 100 Boko Haram insurgents killed, the army announced in an earlier statement, according to the daily.

Military forces from Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger have been struggling to root out Boko Haram from the Lake Chad region for more than five years.

In 2015, a Boko Haram faction pledged allegiance to the so called ISIS/Daesh group.

The violence by Boko Haram has affected some 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and displaced 2.6 million others, according to the UN Refugee Agency.