Nigeria claims success against Boko Haram

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, March 10 (UPI) -- Nigeria said it won a lopsided victory against the Boko Haram rebels in a series of operations in Borno state.

A spokesman for the Joint Task Force announced that 52 Boko Haram gunmen were killed over 10 days and another 70 were arrested, with task force casualties limited to two dead and three wounded.

"No civilian casualty was recorded," said Lt. Col. Sagir Musa. "Weapons, ammunition, uniforms and other items were recovered in Friday's operation."

Task force troops and the rebels shot it out late Friday in the state capital of Maiduguri shortly after President Goodluck Jonathan completed an official visit earlier in the day. A series of bombs went off in the city just after Jonathan's departure, Leadership Newspapers said Sunday.

Jonathan recently declared he would not grant amnesty to Boko Haram fighters as part of the overall effort to end to the conflict. Leadership Newspapers said the president's stand has received mixed reviews from Nigerian politicians and scholars.