Troops kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Cameroon

Cameroon’s army has said it killed 143 Boko Haram fighters, with the government saying it is the biggest defeat it has inflicted to date on the Islamist group.

The government spokesman, Issa Bakary, made the announcement on Tuesday in Yaoundé.

Bakary said the insurgents were killed after they attacked a military camp in Kolofata, in the north of Cameroon.

The military initially said 143 Boko Haram fighters had died in over five hours of fighting.

Aljazeeral had reported on Monday, quoting the Cameroonian Communication minster, that the country’s soldiers had killed 300 Boko Haram militants after the terrorists attacked a military base.

Bakary said the battle ended after the army bombed the attackers, forcing them to retreat to the Nigerian border.

“However, Cameroon lost one soldier,” he said.

The Central African country has deployed over 1,000 troops in its far north region, where Boko Haram members frequently enter from Nigeria to launch attacks.