Nigeria’s air force on Thursday bombed Boko
Haram strongholds in northeast Borno state, killing
“a large number of terrorists”, as a four-nation
offensive against the insurgents presses on, a
military statement said.

The targets of the bombardment included the town
of Gwoza, where Boko Haram leader Abubakar
Shekau first proclaimed the existence of a caliphate
inside in Nigeria in August, and the notorious
Sambisa Forest area, where the rebels have had
camps for years.

“The air strikes which today targeted… Sambisa
forests and parts of Gwoza have been highly
successful,” defence spokesman Chris Olukolade
said in a statement.

“The death of a large number of terrorists has been
recorded.”

Nigerian military claims of successes against Boko
Haram have in the past not been consistent with
witness accounts and it was not immediately
possible to verify the details of the latest operation.

The Sambisa Forest is believed to be the area
where more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by
Boko Haram in April were taken before being
divided into groups and moved.

The Islamist militants took over Gwoza in July and
tried to encourage people to stay and live under
the group’s so-called caliphate.

The current population of the town is not known
and it was not clear if any civilians were killed in
the air force bombardment.

Nigeria and its neighbours Cameroon, Chad and
Niger this month launched an unprecedented joint
campaign to crush the uprising, claiming major
successes.

But the regional militaries have offered different
accounts of operations so far.

Chad this week said its fighters were advancing
towards Sambisa Forest after crossing the border
and overpowering the Islamists in the Borno town
of Dikwa, 50 kilometres (about 30 miles) from their
base on the Cameroon border.

Nigeria has insisted its military is leading the
operation, which aimed at containing the
insurgency which has killed 13,000 people since
2009.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/air-force-bombs-boko-haram-strongholds/#sthash.dS4B46eQ.dpuf

Kk

Gud news fear being caught me i being fink say na our own air force 1 for nairaland.