The Nigerian Army said on Sunday its forces killed a senior commander of Boko Haram and 10 other fighters during a military operation in northeastern Nigeria.
In a statement, the army said the operation was carried out in the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, a long-time stronghold of the militant group.
The military identified the commander as Abu Khalid, describing him as Boko Haram’s second-in-command in the Sambisa Forest area. He was said to have played a key role in coordinating attacks and managing logistics along the Sambisa axis.
No casualties were reported among Nigerian troops, according to the statement, which added that counterterrorism operations are continuing in forested areas across the northeast.
Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in Nigeria since the early 2000s, with tens of thousands of people killed since 2009, according to authorities. Since 2015, the group has expanded attacks into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, destabilizing the wider Lake Chad Basin.
The violence has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians, forcing many to flee their homes amid ongoing clashes between militant groups and regional security forces.