Nigerian troops kill over 90 Boko Haram Members

Government: Nigerian troops kill over 90 Boko
Haram members
By Vlad Duthiers and Greg Botelho , CNN
October 25, 2013 -- Updated 2226 GMT (0626
HKT)
A student stands in a classroom burnt by the
Islamist group Boko Haram in Maiduguri, Nigeria
on May 12, 2012.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The military kills more than 70 Boko Haram
members in an operation in Borno state
They also fend off an attack on a military
checkpoint in Yobe state's capital
21 suspected Boko Haram members die in
fighting there
Boko Haram seeks to impose a strict version of
Sharia law across northeastern Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- More than 70 members
of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram have
been killed during a Nigerian military operation
in the northeastern state of Borno, an Army
spokesman told CNN on Friday.
The military "remains on the offensive,"
according to Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, who
said the operation started Thursday and
continued into the next day.
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This wasn't the only clash between Boko Haram
and Nigerian troops of late.
Suspected members of the extremist group
around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (12:30 p.m. ET)
attacked a military checkpoint in Damaturu,
Nigeria's Joint Task Force reported in a
statement. Also in northern Nigeria, Damaturu is
the capital of Yobe state.
Special operations troops responded, waging "a
fierce encounter with the terrorists in various
parts of Damaturu ... for several hours,"
according to the Joint Task Force.
By the time that fighting was over, 21 suspected
Boko Haram fighters were dead, the government
group reported. Three vehicles were recovered,
as were assault rifles, a rocket-propelled
grenade, improvised explosive devices and 709
rounds of ammunition.
The military did not provide any information on
its casualties.
"Law abiding citizens are enjoined to remain
calm as the 3 Division Special Operation
Battalion is on top of the situation," the Joint
Task Force said, noting a 24-hour curfew was
imposed throughout the state. "Any credible
information should be passed promptly to
security agencies for necessary action."
Last May, President Goodluck Jonathan put three
states in the region under a state of emergency,
giving Nigerian forces wide latitude in fighting
the group, which human rights organizations say
has killed more than 3,000 people since 2009.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is
sacrilege" in the Hausa-Fulani language, seeks to
impose a strict version of Sharia law across
northeastern Nigeria, if not the entire country.
The group has attacked various targets in the
West African nation since its formation in the
late 1990s, according to the U.S. National
Counterterrorism Center, including killing and
kidnapping Westerners, and bombing schools
and churches.
Hundreds of its members, including its leader
Mohammed Yusuf, died in July 2009 clashes with
government forces. But the group did not stay
down for long, and has remained an active and
violent force in Nigeria.
In August, its militants allegedly went into a
mosque in Borno state and killed 44 worshipers.
The group released a video boasting that it was
growing stronger