40 Boko Haram militants perish in Fotokol attack

Cameroonian army forces have reportedly killed 40 Boko Haram militants in the country’s far north after the latter tried to attack an army convoy near the Nigerian border, a military official said Tuesday.

“Dozens of Boko Haram militants on Monday afternoon raided the Cameroonian town of Fotokol near the border with Nigeria,” army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Didier Badjeck told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

“The gunmen opened fire on a column of Cameroonian soldiers who, in turn, fired back. At least 40 Boko Haram militants were killed during the exchange of fire and two cars [belonging to] the attackers were captured and burnt,” Badjeck said.

One Cameroonian soldier was however injured in the exchange, he added. The remaining attackers subsequently withdrew to Nigeria, the spokesman said, adding that calm had since been restored to Fotokol.

The Nigeria-based militant group has already been blamed for several previous cross-border attacks in Cameroon.