Nigerian forces claim killing 61 terrorists in week

By Adam Abu-bashal

ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria has killed 61 members of Boko Haram in the country’s northeast over the past week, a top defense official said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters, John Enenche, spokesman for the Nigerian Defense Ministry, said the country’s army carried out operations against Boko Haram in Adamawa state.

Enenche said 61 Boko Haram terrorists were killed and many were injured during the operations.

He said at least 11 terrorists surrendered, while a huge cache of ammunition belonging to the group was seized.

The spokesman said a total of 603 terrorists have surrendered to the government since the beginning of the year and that they are in a rehabilitation program.

Boko Haram launched a bloody insurgency in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria but later spread its atrocities to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a military response.

More than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3 million displaced in a decade of Boko Haram's terrorist activities in Nigeria, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Violence committed 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.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan in Ankara