Chad and Niger launch attack on Boko Haram

According to military sources, Chad and Niger have launched a joint military offensive against Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria.

A Niger government source said that the two countries had launched a "ground and air" operation against Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria.

"We can confirm that Chadian and Nigerian forces launched an offensive this morning from Niger. The offensive is under way," Colonel Azem Bermandoa, spokesperson for Chad's army, said on Sunday.

According to the press, the attack is Niger's first major push into Nigerian territory to combat Boko Haram, as it had until now only defended itself against infiltrations in border areas.

Chad, backed by its air force, has already sent troops many kilometres inside northeastern Nigeria, winning back areas from the group near the Cameroon border.

So far more than 30 towns and villages have reportedly been retaken from Boko Haram since Chad and Niger joined efforts beside Nigerian and Cameroonian troops to fight the group.

The offensive comes after the African Union on Friday endorsed the creation of a regional force of up to 10,000 men to join the fight against the group which on Saturday pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).