Nigerian army kills a Boko Haram commander and ten fighters

A top Boko Haram commander and ten other militants were killed in a night operation in northeastern Borno state, Nigerian army said on Sunday.

The army identified the leader killed as Abu Khalid and said he was second-in-command of Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest.

"Abu Khalid was a key figure within the terrorist hierarchy, coordinating operations and logistics in the Sambisa axis," said the army statement.

It said no casualties were recorded among its own troops, and that they continued to conduct clearance operations across the Sambisa Forest, Mandara Mountains, Timbuktu Triangle and other known hideouts of Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North East region.

Nigeria has been battling Boko Haram and its splinter group ISWAP for over a decade in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions across the Lake Chad region.