ABUJA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian military on Sunday confirmed that 13 suspected Boko Haram militants surrendered to troops during an operation aimed at smoking out remnants of the terror group in the country's northeast region.
The terrorists surrendered as troops on Saturday "sustained aerial bombardment and aggressive intensive clearance operation" in the Bama area of the northern state of Borno, John Enenche, the military spokesman, said in a statement.
According to Enenche, 17 children and six women, identified as family members of the suspected militants, also surrendered to troops at the Kodila village in the same Bama area of Borno.
He added that the suspects are currently undergoing "thorough profiling and investigation in line with global best practices in handling such cases."
Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin.
