TheCable

The Nigerian army says hundreds of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents are being flushed out of their hideouts.

Sagir Musa, army’s spokesperson, said this in a statement issued on Thursday.

He said artillery and aerial bombardments of Boko Haram settlements have forced the insurgents to flee to north and central Africa sub-regions.

“This mass movement for their lives was necessitated by the sustained air and artillery bombardments by the Nigerian Armed Forces and Coalition forces of the MNJTF, which killed uncountable number of the terrorists and destroyed their weapons and equipment,” he said.

“To further annihilate the fleeing terrorists, efforts are ongoing for continued shelling, bombardment and pursuits.

“Similarly, the countries in these sub-regions have also been contacted through the MNJTF headquarters.”

He said the various national troops and multinational joint task force (MNJTF) were maintaining aggressive patrols and blocking positions against infiltration by the escaping criminals.

He added that most of them had been hiding along the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger Republic and Nigeria.

In the past few months, Boko Haram insurgents had attacked military formations and bases, and this led the army to rework its strategy in fighting them.