Nigerian soldier dies in anti-terrorism operations

A Nigerian soldier died and 13 other soldiers were injured during recent anti-terrorism operations in the country's northeast region, an army spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

Two other soldiers have also been declared missing by the authorities, following the operations aimed at getting rid of remnants of terrorists from their hideouts in the northern Borno State and the country's entire northeast region, Sani Usman, the army spokesman wrote in a statement.

"The operations involved ambushes, cordon and search of the suspected remnants hiding places in the remote areas," he said.

Efforts are underway to locate the missing soldiers, he added.

The Boko Haram insurgency has been blamed for more than 20,000 deaths and displacement of 2.3 million people since 2009.

Nigeria has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces operating in the restive region dislodging the Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, the group's largest training camp in the country, last December.

The security forces are intensifying aerial and ground patrol in the country's northeast, extending their offensive mission around the Green Belt Region near Niger and Chad.

Source: Xinhua