More than 2,000 Nigerian troops have begun an offensive in Borno state to regain territory seized by Boko Haram Islamists, army sources said Thursday. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno and two other states on Tuesday.
Nigerian forces attacked Islamist strongholds in the northeast on Thursday, security sources said as an offensive got under way to wrest back territory from increasingly well-armed Boko Haram insurgents.
Soldiers raided areas in the Sambisa Game Reserve, a remote savannah of some 500 sq km (200 sq miles) in Borno state where Islamists have established bases, said two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. They gave no further details.
Preparing for possible further action across three frontier states where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, the armed forces also deployed jet fighters and helicopter gunships to the region.
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