Nigerian troops make penetration into Boko Haram's largest camp: army chief

Troops in Nigeria's northeast region have made deep penetration into the Sambisa Forest to launch military operations against terror group Boko Haram, the country's army chief Tukur Buratai said on Thursday.

The Sambisa Forest, located about 60 kilometers southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, is known as the largest training camp of Boko Haram.

Buratai told the audience at an army function in Abuja, the nation's political capital, that the troops are already doing well in their operations in the forest.

The northeast region of Nigeria has been a stronghold of the extremist group and has been frequently raided in the past six years.

In past months, the Nigerian government had launched many military operations to eliminate the terrorist threat.

According to the army chief, the Nigerian military took the fight to terrorists inside the Sambisa Forest, having resolved to maintain the pressure from all fronts, on any form of insurgency and militancy to ensure the country was safe.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari's invaluable support for the military was largely responsible for the success being recorded by troops in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast and other operations across Nigeria.

Boko Haram, which seeks to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria, has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and displacement of more than 2.6 million people since 2009. Endit