[AnNahar] Nigeria's military on Saturday claimed the killing of scores of Boko Haram... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
Death Eaters and the rescue of 20 more hostages during an operation in the notorious Sambisa forest, an Islamist stronghold.
"Despite continuous encounter with large number of land mines which still litter the Sambisa forest, troops have forged ahead...as scores of the holy warriors died in the assault on their bases on Friday," a defense ministry statement said.
"A total of 20 women and kiddies were rescued at the end of the Friday operation," in the forest in the country's northeast, it added.
One soldier died while 10 others were maimed in the assault on rebel bases, according to the statement.
There was no way to independently verify the military's claims.
The defense ministry's accounts of festivities with Boko Haram have in the past not been consistent with eye witness reports.
But Nigeria has reportedly won a series of successes over the Death Eaters in recent weeks.
More than 700 hostages, primarily women and kiddies, have reportedly been freed during the military's assault on Sambisa, which Boko Haram has used as a base for several years.
According to
Nigeria's latest assault on the Death Eaters has been backed by troops in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
and Niger.
Despite the apparent successes, attacks have continued, including a surge in violence this week in northeastern Adamawa state, which has been relatively quiet for months.
Experts believe that while Boko Haram has been flushed out of dozens of towns it previously controlled, the group will continue to launch guerilla-style attacks, particularly targeting defenseless civilians.