Cameroon army kills 116 Boko Haram militants

Cameroon's army killed 116 Boko Haram fighters Wednesday when the insurgents attacked an army base in the far north region of Amchide, the country's defence ministry said Thursday.

Cameroonian defence and security forces repulsed a massive attack conducted by about 3,000 suspected militants of the Nigerian Islamic Boko Haram from Wednesday to Thursday, Xinhua reported citing sources from the ministry, adding that the attack started at around 4 p.m. Wednesday which also left three Cameroonian soldiers killed.

The sources said the two sides engaged in heavy fighting with powerful weapons in Amchide and Limani, two places in far north of Cameroon bordering Nigeria, where the suspected Boko Haram fighters regularly carry out attacks.

According to the sources, the three Cameroonian soldiers who were killed in the attack are from the Rapid Intervention Battalion (RIB), an elite troop deployed in the far north of Cameroon for several months to fight against Boko Haram fundamentalists.

The sources said six RIB soldiers were injured in the attack.

The attack comes less than a week after a previous attack during which the Cameroonian army announced having killed at least 180 Boko Haram fighters Dec.12 in the same localities.

Security sources said it was within the same territory that over 200 Boko Haram militants were killed together with nine Cameroonian soldiers, during deadly clashes between the two camps Oct 15-16 this year.