Nigerian forces neutralize 134 terrorists in northeast

By Gokhan Kavak

ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria has neutralized 134 members of the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist organizations, a top defense official said Monday.

Defense Ministry Spokesman John Enenche told reporters the terrorists were killed in Operation Kantana Jimlan, which was launched on May 1 in the country’s northeast.

He said 78 of the terrorists were members of ISWAP and 56 were members of Boko Haram.

Enenche said Nigerian troops also arrested 16 informants of the terrorists, adding the country aims to eradicate both terror organizations from Nigerian territory.

He noted that the operation had left the criminal elements and their leadership in complete disarray.

Lots of ammunition belonging to the terrorist organizations were also seized during the operation, he added.

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.

ISWAP is a splinter group of Boko Haram.

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 Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara