ABUJA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Scores of Boko Haram militants were killed following series of airstrikes by the Nigerian military who targeted a major tactical base of the terror group in the country's northeastern state of Borno, an air force spokesman said on Tuesday.
The air task force of the military, which carried out the raid, also decimated the major tactical base of Boko Haram at Izza, a location on the fringes of the Sambisa forest in Borno, said Ibikunle Daramola, the air force's spokesman, in a statement reaching Xinhua in Abuja.
Three Alpha jets of the air task force were scrambled to attack the location, with the timing synchronized to inflict maximum damage and mortality on the terrorists, Daramola said.
The spokesman declined to give the accurate figure of Boko Haram militants killed in the raid and the day of the operation but a military source said the there were series of airstrikes around the Sambisa forest on Monday.
He said the raid was part of renewed efforts aimed at some identified terrorists' positions in Borno.
The location was designated for an attack after a series of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance missions had established that the location was being used as a staging area from where the Boko Haram elements launch their attacks.
The Nigerian air force, operating in concert with surface forces, would sustain its operations against the terrorists in the northeast region, Daramola added.
The northeast region has been destabilized for over a decade by Boko Haram, which most notoriously kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in 2014.
Boko Haram is known for its agenda to maintain a virtual caliphate in the most populous African country.
