Chris Olukolade

Nigeria on Thursday named a general to lead a new multinational task force created to fight Boko Haram jihadists in the face of a surge of devastating attacks.

Three militia fighters and 11 Boko Haram militants have been killed in a clash in a village in northeastern Nigeria, a local resident and a member of the militia fighting alongside the army said on Tuesday.

Boko Haram fighters have amassed in the group's Sambisa Forest stronghold in northeast Nigeria, as a military offensive tries to flush them out, a civilian vigilante told AFP on Thursday.

Nigeria's military has called for support in tackling Boko Haram after a major attack on a key northeast town that is feared could be the worst in the bloody six-year insurgency.

A Nigerian Air Force jet has been missing for two days after disappearing in the country's far northeast, where troops are fighting Boko Haram insurgents, the military said on Sunday.

Footage obtained by human rights group Amnesty International and released on Tuesday appears to show Nigerian soldiers slitting the throats of Boko Haram suspects and dumping their bodies in a mass grave.

Nigeria's military said on Saturday that it had killed 53 fighters from the Islamist Boko Haram group when it repelled an attack on a military base in the northeast Nigerian town of Damboa.

Another 14 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists in the northeast have escaped, leaving 85 missing on Saturday after an attack that has sparked global outrage, an official said.

Scores of female students kidnapped by Islamic militants from a northeastern Nigerian school are free, Nigeria's military reported on Wednesday.

Nigeria's military said on Tuesday it had killed 50 Islamist rebels as they tried to cross the border into Cameroon, engaging them in a battle on Monday.

Nigeria on Thursday named a general to lead a new multinational task force created to fight Boko Haram jihadists in the face of a surge of devastating attacks.

Three militia fighters and 11 Boko Haram militants have been killed in a clash in a village in northeastern Nigeria, a local resident and a member of the militia fighting alongside the army said on Tuesday.

Boko Haram fighters have amassed in the group's Sambisa Forest stronghold in northeast Nigeria, as a military offensive tries to flush them out, a civilian vigilante told AFP on Thursday.

Nigeria's military has called for support in tackling Boko Haram after a major attack on a key northeast town that is feared could be the worst in the bloody six-year insurgency.

A Nigerian Air Force jet has been missing for two days after disappearing in the country's far northeast, where troops are fighting Boko Haram insurgents, the military said on Sunday.

Footage obtained by human rights group Amnesty International and released on Tuesday appears to show Nigerian soldiers slitting the throats of Boko Haram suspects and dumping their bodies in a mass grave.

Nigeria's military said on Saturday that it had killed 53 fighters from the Islamist Boko Haram group when it repelled an attack on a military base in the northeast Nigerian town of Damboa.

Another 14 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists in the northeast have escaped, leaving 85 missing on Saturday after an attack that has sparked global outrage, an official said.

Scores of female students kidnapped by Islamic militants from a northeastern Nigerian school are free, Nigeria's military reported on Wednesday.

Nigeria's military said on Tuesday it had killed 50 Islamist rebels as they tried to cross the border into Cameroon, engaging them in a battle on Monday.