Chad Carries Out Airstrikes on Boko Haram Positions in Nigeria

Local Editor

Chad's military confirmed Thursday that it had carried out airstrikes on Boko Haram extremists in neighboring Nigeria to avenge twin suicide bombings in Chad's capital that were blamed on the Takfiris.

The army stated that "cowardly and barbaric acts perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists" in N'Djamena on Monday had killed 33 people.

Further, the army announced that "the armed forces... on Wednesday carried out reprisal airstrikes on the terrorists' positions in Nigerian territory."

It would be recalled that suspected Takfiri suicide bombers appeared to be a retaliation by the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram for Chad's leading role in a regional offensive against it.

At least 100 people were injured in two simultaneous attacks at around 9:00 a.m. [0800 GMT] on a police headquarters and training school. It was the first strike of its kind in the central African nation, which had emerged as a firm Western ally against Islamist groups in the Sahel.

Moreover, the government, which said that four Boko Haram fighters were among the 27 dead, announced a raft of measures to tighten security in the capital which serves as the headquarters for a 3,000-strong French mission - known as Barkhane - fighting militancy in the region.

Chad, whose oil revenues had helped it emerge as a military heavyweight in the region, had been a driving force behind a campaign that has inflicted a series of defeats on Boko Haram since January.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team