Nigerian army kills at least 15 suspected Boko Haram militants

Nigeria’s military said on Friday that it has killed at least 15 gunmen believed to be Boko Haram extremists.

According to a statement, military spokesperson Kinsley Samuel, said the militants were killed during a battle with soldiers.

The fighting is said to have occured Thursday morning when the fighters attacked a base in Sambisa forest in nothern Nigeria, which had been a Boko Haram stronghold, until Nigeria’s government declared the group ‘crushed’ last year.

Samuel added that a large cache of weapons belonging to the militants was seized by the army.

Boko Haram’s insurgency in north-east Nigeria is now in its eighth year and has killed at least 20,000 people and left millions homeless.