The Nigerien army said last week it killed “about 20 terrorists” of the jihadist group Boko Haram and captured 83 other suspected fighters during an operation on the border with Nigeria.

This “air-land sweep” operation aimed to “neutralize” the bases of the Islamic State in West Africa group (ISWAP, a splinter faction of Boko Haram) installed in the Matari forest in Nigeria from where attacks against towns and military positions in Niger are planned, according to the military operations bulletin in the Diffa region (south-east of Niger), consulted on Wednesday by AFP.

It also aims to “maintain pressure on ISWAP” and “cut its supply lines”, the text describes.

According to a report drawn up by the army, some 20 “terrorists have been neutralized” and “83 suspected Boko Haram terrorists” captured and handed over to the Nigerian authorities.