ABUJA, Nigeria, April 23 (UPI) -- The Nigerian military has begun a ground assault on Boko Haram's last known stronghold in the north-eastern Sambisa forest in an effort to defeat the group.
The military is receiving support from fighter jets, which have bombarded the forest occupied by the Islamist militant group since February. Two Boko Haram militants and two soldiers were killed as of Wednesday, according to Al-Jazeera.
Nigeria, backed by Chad, Niger and Cameroon, has recaptured most of the territory Boko Haram seized last year.
Boko Haram carried out a mass abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, which drew international attention and created the "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign. There is speculation the girls are in the Sambisa forest -- which is one of the largest territories where fighting has been carried out.
"The operations especially in forest locations are progressing in defiance of obstacles and land mines emplaced by the terrorists," the Nigerian military said in a statement on Wednesday.
Boko Haram was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2013. The militant Islamic group seeks to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and has ruthlessly targeted civilians.
The group abducts children and uses them in the militant group as combatants, cooks, carriers and look-outs. Young women and girls are subjected to forced marriage, labor and rape.
About 800,000 children have been forced to flee their homes due to violence generated by Boko Haram's violent insurgency in Nigeria.
