The Nigerian Army said on Monday that three Boko Haram members were killed in two different battles in Borno State.

The second battle, which occurred on Saturday, also resulted in the recovery of 200 rustled cows from the insurgents, Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, said.

In the firs battle, soldiers laid an ambush “for Boko Haram terrorists at one of their suspected crossing points near Firgi, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.”

“During the ambush, the troops neutralised one of the terrorists suspected to be an expert Improvised Explosives Device (IED) expert, while other terrorists escaped with gunshot wounds. The gallant troops recovered 1 Gas Cylinder suspected to be for IED, 2 Water Bottles and 1 Motorcycle.”

The second battle followed “a report that suspected Boko Haram terrorists have rustled and carted away over 200 cows at Makandari Village in Kala Balge Local Government Area.”

Consequently, soldiers were mobilised. They “pursued the terrorists to Beneri village where contact was made.”

“The patrol team engaged the terrorists and neutralised 2 of the criminal Boko Haram terrorists cattle rustlers.

“They recovered 1 AK-47 Rifle, an empty Magazine, 2 Motorcycles and 1 National Identity Card. In addition, the gallant troops also recovered all the rustled cows and returned to the rightful owners.”

Thousands of Boko Haram members have been killed and hundreds arrested since the insurgency started in 2009. The violence has also claimed about 100,000 lives, majorly in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.