Chad and Niger troops retake Nigerian town

N'DJAMENA, Chad: A military offensive by troops from Chad and Niger has retaken the northeastern Nigerian town of Damasak and left some 200 terrorists dead, a Chadian security source said Monday.
Boko Haram had held the town near the Niger border since November. Ten Chadian soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in the offensive that began on Sunday, the source said.
A Niger official in Diffa, located across the border from Damasak, confirmed the town had been retaken after heavy fighting.
The offensive, which followed a sustained build-up of troops in southern Niger, opened up a new front in regional efforts to wipe out the terror group, whose six-year insurgency has spread across borders.
It came after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in an audio message at the weekend.
The escalation in a joint military campaign against the Nigeria-based Boko Haram comes just weeks before Nigerians head to the polls for an election which many fear will turn violent, and after scores of attacks by the militants on neighboring countries who have pledged to help Nigeria defeat the extremists.
Chadian Brig. Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue said Monday that his soldiers, alongside troops from Niger, had entered Nigeria. He declined to give details about the ongoing operation. Already Chadian forces had crossed into northeastern Nigeria from Cameroon to fight the terrorists, he said.
"They are bandits and criminals who have nothing to do with religion," Ngobongue said. He spoke to reporters after the closing ceremony for Flintlock, a training in counter-terrorism tactics that included US special forces and involved 20 countries.
Witnesses in the Niger town of Bosso reported about 200 military vehicles crossing over into Nigeria since Saturday. Adam Boukarna, one resident, said the deployment was followed by loud detonations, signaling heavy combat with Boko Haram.
Describing the stepped-up military activity, Nigerian military spokesman Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade said Sunday night that "there were some pre-emptive manoeuvers along an axis in the theater. Nigerian forces were also involved."
Cameroon's minister of defense, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o, said troops from Nigeria and Chad would fight Boko Haram while soldiers from Cameroon and Niger would guard their borders to prevent the militants from escaping. Boko Haram has been using Cameroon as an escape and supply route.
Residents in potential conflict zones in Cameroon have been asked to leave, the minister said.
Tens of thousands of Nigerians have taken refuge in the area, among 1.6 million people driven from their homes by the insurgency.
International concern has increased along with the casualties. About 10,000 people were killed in Boko Haram's uprising last year, compared to about 2,000 in the four previous years, according to the US Council on Foreign Relations.
The United States, Britain, France and the European Union are backing the formation of a multinational force of 8,750 troops led by Nigeria and Chad with contingents from Cameroon, Niger and Benin. Several other countries also have pledged to help.
More than 13,000 people have been killed and some 1.5 million made homeless in the Boko Haram conflict since 2009 and the regional coalition is a reflection of regional fears about security following cross-border attacks.