MAIDUGURI (Nigeria), Sept 6: Nigeria’s military said on Friday it had killed 50 Boko Haram Islamists in an operation in the northeast launched in response to an insurgent attack, in the latest violence to hit the region.Gunmen suspected to be from the violent Islamist sect opened fire in a market on Thursday in the town of Gajiran, killing 15 people, residents said.

The military sent troops in pursuit of the attackers backed by air support, the area military spokesman Sagir Musa told journalists in the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

“Troops pursued the terrorists to their camps with air support and about 50 insurgents were killed in a shootout,” Musa said.

“Troops are pursuing the remnants of the fleeing terrorists by blocking all possible escape routes,” he added.

The violence occurred in Borno state, Boko Haram’s historic stronghold and where the military has battled insurgents for the past four years.

Most of the northeast was placed under a state of emergency in May, when the military launched a major offensive aimed at crushing the Islamists.

In Gajiran, roughly 50 kilometres from Maiduguri, Borno’s capital, dozens of Boko Haram gunmen reportedly pretended to be traders looking to sell goods in the local market.

They then spread into groups, spraying civilians with gunfire, while separately setting fire to a local government building and a police post.

The military has claimed major gains in the offensive, describing the Islamists as being in disarray and only capable of attacking soft targets in remote areas.

While the number of attacks appeared to decline shortly after the military campaign was launched, the bloodshed has spiked in recent weeks, with dozens of people killed in a range of attacks across the region. —AFP