Cameroon army kills 116 Boko Haram fighters
2014-12-18 12:53
Boko Haram (File: AFP)
Yaounde - Cameroon's army said on Thursday its troops had killed 116 Nigerian fighters from the Islamist Boko Haram group in the far north.
Insurgents attacked an army base in Amchide on the border with Nigeria on Wednesday, but soldiers repelled them, inflicting heavy losses, the defence ministry said.
"A column made up of a military truck and four pick-ups from the BIR [Rapid Intervention Battalion] were caught in an ambush that began with an explosion of a roadside bomb," the army said.
"At the same time... the Amchide military base was attacked by hundreds of fighters from the sect, but the response from our defence forces was instant and appropriate," the statement said.
"There are 116 of the assailants dead on Cameroonian territory and undetermined casualties on the Nigerian territory from our artillery fire," the statement said.
"There is one dead on the Cameroonian side and one officer missing."
According to the army, the Boko Haram fighters destroyed a pick-up and a troop truck, as well as managing to capture another military truck.
Boko Haram has grown in power in the area, where Cameroon and Nigeria are linked by a bridge.
Militants have carried out repeated massacres of civilians and attacks on villages there, but are now increasingly active against military targets.
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