Cameroonian army kills a hundred Boko Haram militants

Cameroon’s military has said that its forces had killed about 100 Boko Haram militants and freed several hundred hostages in a joint operation with Nigerian troops.

Military commanders said the combined force also had liberated the northeastern Nigerian town of Kumahe, near the Cameroonian border, during a three-day operation against the militant group.

Cameroonian Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said two Cameroon soldiers had been killed and five others wounded during the operation.

There were no independent accounts to confirm the report, which came as U.S. envoys have been conferring with Nigerian military officials about the possible deployment of U.S. military advisers to the region.

Boko Haram has expanded its activities to neighbouring countries from northern Nigeria and has struck repeatedly in Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

The group has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group and says it wants to create a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria.