A mass grave containing at least 70 bodies has been found in a Nigerian town recently retaken from Boko Haram, soldiers from Niger and Chad say.
They say they found it in Damasak, a town in north-eastern Nigeria they entered on Saturday, ending months of control by the militant Islamists.
They say they found it in Damasak, a town in north-eastern Nigeria they entered on Saturday, ending months of control by the militant Islamists.
Earlier, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan predicted Boko Haram would lose all territory within a month.
"They are getting weaker and weaker by the day," he told the BBC on Friday.
President Goodluck Jonathan: "I'm very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover the old territories"
Damasak is a trading town in Borno state near Niger's border and is about 200km (125 miles) from state's main city of Maiduguri.
It was overrun by the militants, who began their insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state, at the end of last year.
"They are getting weaker and weaker by the day," he told the BBC on Friday.
President Goodluck Jonathan: "I'm very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover the old territories"
Damasak is a trading town in Borno state near Niger's border and is about 200km (125 miles) from state's main city of Maiduguri.
It was overrun by the militants, who began their insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state, at the end of last year.
The victims found in the mass grave in Damasak, many with their throats slits and some decapitated, may have been killed some time ago, reports suggest.
Chadian army Col Azem Bermandoa Agouna told the AFP news agency that he had visited the grave and seen "about 100 bodies spread under a bridge just outside the town".
Together with the Nigerian army, forces from Chad, Niger and Cameroon are involved in an offensive against the Islamist insurgents who began taking over territory about a year ago - after being pushed out of their base in Maiduguri.
Nigeria is preparing to hold presidential elections on 28 March after security concerns led to a postponement of the original date in mid-February.
'Under-rated external influence'
President Jonathan's government has been heavily criticised for its failure to end the six-year insurgency in the north-east.
He admitted that it the government has been surprised by the group's progress.
"We never expected that [Boko Haram] will build up that kind of capacity. We under-rated their external influence. Since after the civil war we've not fought any war, we don't manufacture weapons, so we had to look for help to re-equip our army and the air force," he told the BBC.
The government has made similar claims in the past about defeating or driving back Boko Haram within a specific period - but these have not been borne out by events.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
Earlier this month, the group pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants, who control large parts of Syria and Iraq and are also active in Libya.
The violence in north-eastern Nigeria has killed more than 15,500 people since 2012.
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