3 Boko Haram members ‘die in Cameroon’

The Cameroonian army says it has repelled an attack by Boko Haram and killed three members of the militant group in heavy fighting in the far north region of the country.

According to a spokesman of the Cameroonian government, the attack represented a change of tactics by the militants following a series of battlefield defeats this year.

The militants have lost territory to a regional force that comprises Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, spokesman Issa Tchiroma said on Thursday.

“Early Tuesday morning around 3:40 a.m. (local time) an enemy column in four-wheel drive vehicles opened fire on positions held by our defence forces,” he said.

“There followed violent combat until dawn. Faced with the repose of our soldiers, the aggressors beat a retreat, leaving behind three dead, a quantity of weapons and a lot of blood.

Tchiroma said no government soldiers were hurt, adding that the militants were only “trying to make their voice heard and prove that they continue to exist”.

Boko Haram rarely comments directly on military action and there was no independent confirmation of the battle, but two military sources close to the fighting who declined to be identified said 18 militants were killed in the fighting.

The regional operation has reduced attacks in recent months but bombings in Nigeria suggest Boko Haram may be shifting its focus further south and west, towards the capital, Abuja.

Boko Haram has been trying to establish a state adhering to strict Sharia law through an insurgency that began in 2009. It controlled an area larger than Belgium at the end of 2014 before the regional offensive began.