the border with Niger, a senior Niger military official told Reuters.
Niger and Chadian soldiers have been fighting the Islamist
militants in a joint mission with Nigeria and Cameroon since March 2,
in a bid to end Boko Haram's six-year insurgency in northern Nigeria
that is threatening regional stability.
The helicopters destroyed several vehicles and motorcycles
carrying fighters in the Nigerian village of Djaboullam, which lies
east across the border from the Niger town of Diffa, the Niger officer
said.
"Niger
and Chad had received intelligence that a group of Boko Haram fighters
had gathered in the border village," the officer said.
The Niger military officer, who requested anonymity, said
Boko Haram fighters had moved to Djaboullam after they were chased from
other towns by the Nigerian army. Militants were also gathering in other
border towns from where they routinely launch mortar rounds into Niger,
he said.
"We know they are massing in Malam Fatori,
waiting for us to come," he said, referring to another northeast
Nigerian town about three kilometres (2 miles) from Bosso, the nearest
town across the border in Niger.The regional offensive launched this year comes as Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and biggest economy, prepares to hold elections on March 28.
The offensive has succeeded in driving the militants from
several towns and districts they previously held. Chad and Niger forces
captured the town of Damasak from the militants last week.
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