Nigeria’s army said on Saturday it had launched an operation in the northern city of Maiduguri, the bastion of Islamist group Boko Haram, that led to the deaths of 20 suspected militants and two soldiers.
The soldiers on Friday stormed a location where some Boko Haram men were found and “we exchanged fire with them and about 20 of them died in the crossfire. We also lost two of our soldiers while three were injured,” said army spokesman Lt Colonel Sagir Musa. Some 25 Boko Haram suspects were also arrested.