Chad Bombs Boko Haram Bases in Nigeria After Suicide Blasts
Chad said Thursday its military carried out retaliatory airstrikes against Boko Haram militants in neighboring Nigeria after a pair of suicide bombings earlier this week in the Chadian capital that killed at least 33 people, report VOA.
According to the report, the Chad military authority said in a statement that the airstrikes targeted six militant camps and caused “considerable human and material losses.”
There were no details on where exactly the strikes took place.
Monday’s deadly blasts happened at a police headquarters and police academy in N’Djamena where more than 100 people were also injured.
Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet said Wednesday that in response to the attacks the government was banning the wearing and sale of burqas in the country.
Chad, along with Niger and Cameroon, deployed troops earlier this year to fight Boko Haram after the militants launched a series of cross-border attacks. Last week, those countries joined Nigeria and Benin in announcing a new regional task force headquartered in N’Djamena to counter the militants.
Boko Haram began its insurgency in Nigeria in 2009 and since then has killed thousands of Nigerians in shootings and bombings. The Nigerian government responded with a state of emergency in three northern states where Boko Haram is most active, but that campaign has failed to halt attacks.
