Eight soldiers and 48 Boko Haram militants were killed in clashes in Chad on Wednesday, officials said.

The early morning attack took place in Kaiga Kindji in the Lake Chad region, army spokesman Azem Agouna said, adding that 11 other soldiers were wounded.

Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram also regularly launches offensives in Niger and Cameroon.

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Since 2009, tens of thousands of people in the region have died at the hands of the Sunni fundamentalists and an estimated 2.5 million people fled their homes.

The group’s goal is to enforce a strict interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia.

(dpa/NAN)