Over 30 Boko Haram militants killed in clash with Nigerian army

least 30 Boko Haram insurgents were killed in a clash with the Nigerian army in Borno State, the military said on Monday. The acting spokesman of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Capt. Aliyu Danja, said they were killed in a raid launched Sunday on Boko Haram camps and hideouts at a small community. In a statement reaching Xinhua in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, which was the initial stronghold of Boko Haram, the spokesman said the troops gunned down the insurgents fleeing Damboa, where the militant sect killed five residents on Saturday morning. "Thirty of the terrorists were killed including a prominent leader (Amir) of the sect who was believed to be leading the attack on Damboa," he said. "In continuation with the fight against terrorism in Borno State, troops of 7 Division launched Pre-emotive attacks on Boko Haram concentration at Izza Town of Borno State on the afternoon on Oct, 6, 2013," said the spokesman. The operation involved airstrikes and ground attacks on Boko Haram terrorists after the military acquired intelligence that the terrorists were planning "to attack Bama town." he said in the statement. The troops destroyed five Hilux vehicles conveying the insurgents with anti-aircraft guns mounted on board and a 18- seater bus carrying food items for Boko Haram fighters. Attacks have been on the rise in recent months in Borno, a northern state bordering Cameroon, Niger and Chad, where the threat from Al-Qaida's north African branch AQIM is looming. The Boko Haram sect seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the constitution and declares war against the Western education.