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

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

He 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 the over five hours of fighting.

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

“ However, Cameroon lost one soldier. It is by far the heaviest toll sustained by the criminal sect Boko Haram since it began launching its barbaric attacks against our land, people and goods,” he said.

The attack on the Cameroonian military base at Kolofata came as Nigeria said the number of people who lost their lives in an assault by Boko Haram on the town of Baga last week was no more than 150.

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

Meanwhile, Cameroon said it has beefed up it security along its border with Nigeria because of Boko Haram attacks.

One soldier was killed during the assault, which took place on Monday and led to a gun battle lasting five hours.

It was the first major attack on Cameroon since Nigeria-based Boko Haram threatened the country’s leader in a video posted online earlier this month.

Source:  dailyindependentnig.com