Nigerian Troops Kill `Large Number’ of Boko Haram in Ambush

(Bloomberg) -- Nigerian forces ambushed Boko Haram militants attempting to cross into the Sambisa forest in Northern Borno State on Friday, killing a “large number” of them, the military said.

Some of the insurgents escaped with gunshot wounds while the troops rescued a 6-year-old boy and recovered items including uniforms and cutlasses, army spokesman Sani Usman said in an emailed statement.

The militants had ambushed soldiers escorting civilians from Banki to Maiduguri in Borno State, killing four civilians and injuring 14 people including six soldiers, the Nigerian army said last week.

Boko Haram is in the eighth year of a violent campaign to impose its version of Islamic law on Africa’s most populous country of more than 180 million people.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Olukayode in Maiduguri at molugbode1@bloomberg.net, Emele Onu in Lagos at eonu1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alastair Reed at areed12@bloomberg.net, Jana Randow, Amy Teibel

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