Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists have killed nearly 1,200 people in neighbouring Cameroon's far north since 2013, the communications minister in Yaounde said Friday.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary told reporters that the group had staged 315 raids in the border region during this period and carried out 32 suicide bombings.

"In total, 1,098 civilians, 67 of our soldiers and three police officials have been killed in these barbaric attacks by the Boko Haram terrorist group," Bakary said.

Since July last year, Cameroon's far north has been hit by a series of attacks blamed on Boko Haram, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS group.

This year, the number of attacks in the region has increased to a near daily basis with simultaneous incursions in some areas.

"In the face of such unjustified and gratuitous harrassment our defence and security forces have inflicted heavy losses on the enemy," he said, adding that the group had been so weakened that it was now taking recourse to bomb attacks, often staged by women or girls.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/181089.aspx