20 killed as military launch air strikes on Boko Haram strongholds

At least 20 insurgents were killed Friday as Nigeria's military carried out an aerial bombardment of militant Islamist camps in the country's northeast, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

The raid by Nigerian Air Force jets and attack helicopters is part of what the military says is a "massive deployment" of Nigerian forces this week to tackle insurgent groups, including Boko Haram.

"Our military has overrun a number of the militants' camps in north and central Borno state," said defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade.

"Within those insurgents' camps, we discovered that they have been storing sophisticated, high-caliber weapons including anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons."

Asked if the military had inflicted any casualties on the insurgents, Olukolade said, "definitely so. Conservatively speaking, over 20 dead so far."
 
Members of the armed forces have suffered only minor injuries, according to Olukolade.

"The operation continues, we are injecting even more troops and resources into those areas," he added.

The military operation was announced Wednesday, a day after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.