NIGERIA’S military said it targeted militants with precision air attacks in the country’s north-east early on Saturday, killing at least 35 suspected jihadis as the west African country grapples with militancy and Boko Haram terrorists.

The strikes were launched on four targets in the area of Kumshe in Borno state, near the border with Cameroon, according to Ehimen Ejodame, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force.

Boko Haram, a homegrown group of jihadis in Nigeria, is considered one of the world’s deadliest armed groups. It took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose its radical version of Islamic law in the country’s north-east.

A splinter group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province is known for targeting the military and has overrun bases in north-eastern Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.

The conflict has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbours, including Niger, and resulted in the death of around 35,000 civilians and the displacement of more than two million others, according to the United Nations.

Mr Ejodame said the insurgents had converged on Kumshe following attempted attacks on ground troops in the area.

“Following the operation, communication was re-established with ground troops, who confirmed that the situation around their location had been stabilised,” he said.