Nigerian army intensifies operations against armed groups

The Nigerian army said on Sunday it is intensifying operations against Boko Haram and other armed groups operating in the West African country.

In a statement made available to Xinhua, the army said it recently cleared more improvised explosive devices planted by fleeing Boko Haram militants, especially in the northeastern states of Borno and Yobe.

Troops also raided a Boko Haram camp at Kerenoa, a town in Marte local government area of Borno, where the visibly shocked militants fled their hideout on sighting the advancing troops, according to the statement by Aminu Iliyasu, a spokesman of the army in that part of the country.

Furthermore, troops, while on a routine patrol in the northwestern state of Kaduna, where there is also a serious security challenge, had raided two villages in Birnin Gwari local government area of the state in search of armed group members, Iliyasu said.