Soldiers from Niger and Chad have killed 38 Boko Haram fighters during operations that followed attacks by the Nigerian Islamist group on two border towns in southeastern Niger earlier this week, Niger's army said on Saturday.

Two soldiers from the bilateral force were lightly wounded in the operation, launched after clashes in the village of Toumour, near Lake Chad and the Nigerian border, on Monday. [nL8N1BQ1DO]

The Nigerien and Chadian forces also seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition, according to the army statement read on national radio. It said soldiers were continuing to pursue Boko Haram fighters in the area.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of civilians and displaced some 2.4 million people across Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad during a seven-year insurgency aimed at establishing an emirate based on a radical interpretation of Islamic law.