Several Boko Haram militants were killed and the extremist group's logistics base was completely destroyed following a series of airstrikes by the Nigerian military, a defense spokesman said on Friday.

The air task force of the military, which carried out the raid on Thursday, also decimated the major assembly area of Boko Haram at Bula Bello, a location on the fringes of the Sambisa forest in the northeastern state of Borno, said Ibikunle Daramola, the air force’s spokesman, in a statement reaching Xinhua in Abuja.

Two Alpha jets and a Mi-35M helicopter of the air task force attacked the location, taking turns to attack the target area and scoring direct hits on the desired points of impact, said Daramola.

The spokesman declined to give the accurate figure of Boko Haram militants killed in the raid.

“The few surviving fighters were taken out in follow-on strikes by the Mi-35M attack helicopter,” he said.

Daramola said the raid was part of renewed efforts aimed at some identified terrorists’ positions in Borno.

The location was designated for an attack after a series of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance missions had established that the location was being used as a staging area from where the Boko Haram elements launch their attacks.

The Nigerian air force, operating in concert with surface forces, would sustain its operations against the terrorists in the northeast region, he added.

The northeast region has been destabilized for over a decade by Boko Haram, which most notoriously kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in 2014.

Boko Haram is known for its agenda to maintain a virtual caliphate in the most populous African country.

Source: Xinhua