Abuja: At least 35 suspected members of a radical Islamist sect were killed and 156 others arrested by Nigerian military in a campaign in a northern state on Monday.
The Joint Task Force has killed 35 Boko Haram terrorists, including a key commander, in shootouts and arrested 156 others, an army spokesperson said.
Four of those killed were believed to be involved in the recent attack on the country's subsidiary of Airtel and other mobile telephone companies like MTN and Globacom.
"The kingpin was shot in a fire fight with soldiers while resisting arrest," Brigade General John Nwoaga told the media.
Over 300 improvised explosive devices already primed, 25 assorted brands of riffles, mostly brand new AK 47, submachine guns were recovered with other weapons, Nwoaga said. Two soldiers were also injured in the shootouts, he said.
Boko Haram wants to install a Muslim caliphate in Nigeria.
On September 17, the military had killed the spokesman of the sect and arrested two other members during an operation in Hotoro area of the northern state of Kano.
The oil-rich African country's 150 million people are equally divided among Muslims and Christians.