LAGOS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian troops have killed 16 Boko Haram militants and arrested 38 others in its restive northeastern Borno state in renewed efforts to put down insurgent activities, a military spokesperson said Friday.
The troops have recorded appreciable success in the past week, John Enenche said while briefing reporters on the armed forces' latest operations across the country's six geopolitical zones.
Family members of terrorists are among those being arrested, from whom caches of arms and ammunition were recovered, he said.
Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin, posing enormous security, and humanitarian and governance challenges to countries including Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Niger. Enditem
