LAGOS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two Boko Haram commanders were killed in a successful military operation at Alafa area of restive northeast Nigeria's Borno State, the Nigerian Army has said.
Spokesperson for the Army, Brig.-Gen Sani Usman, said in a statement reaching Xinhua on Wednesday that the commanders who were killed in the onslaught were deputies to Boko Haram factional leader, Abubakar Shekau.
The Boko Haram commanders were Afdu Kawuri and Abubakar Banishek.
This is in addition to Ba'Abba Ibrahim and two other Boko Haram commanders that died after sustaining injuries during their last ambush at Magumeri area of Borno, the Army spokesperson said.
According to him, five other key leaders of the group and close associates of Shekau were neutralized in joint bombardment in August.
Usman described Shekau's latest video in which he taunted the army as an act of desperation and lies by remnants of the insurgents to instill unnecessary fear in law-abiding citizens.
In the video, the group denied the killing of its five key commanders and claimed it had wonderful Sallah celebration in the Sambisa forest.
"We wish to challenge the so-called terrorist leader to produce the five key commanders earlier killed or the video of those Ameers he claimed not dead and are still with him," he added.
"It is also instructive to note that Shekau is scared and rattled by the 40-day ultimatum issued by the Chief of Army Staff to Operation LAFIYA DOLE to fish him out," Usman said.
The Nigerian troops, which aimed to clear unrepentant Boko Haram fighters from the shores of the most populous African country, have been sustaining the tempo in their fight against terrorists.
In the past two months, the Nigerian troops had intensified its campaign against the terrorists, killing and arresting dozens of Boko Haram fighters. A bomb factory in Borno was also destroyed.
Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million people in its attacks since 2009.
