3 soldiers and 123 Boko Haram militants died when the Islamist group attacked a Chadian army contingent in northern Cameroon, the Chadian military reports on Friday.
Twelve soldiers sustained various degrees of wounds in the attacks staged by the Islamist group on Thursday and Friday near the border town of Fotokol, according to a military statement released on national television.
Chad sent a convoy of troops and military vehicles into neighbouring Cameroon on 17 January to deal with the growing threat Boko Haram poses in the region.
"The enemy was repelled by our defensive forces," the general staff's statement said, adding that the troops had "routed" the Islamists in the second attack.
Some soldiers were killed by improvised explosive devices, the statement said.
A senior Cameroonian security source stated that the Chadian troops were deployed to the town, which lies opposite a Nigerian town under Boko Haram control and is also close to the border with Chad, on Wednesday.
Boko Haram often stage attacks on Fotokol from their base in the Nigerian town of Gamboru, which is just 500 metres away.
Boko Haram often stage attacks on Fotokol from their base in the Nigerian town of Gamboru, which is just 500 metres away.
Chad has pleaded with countries in the region to form a broad coalition in the fight against the Islamist group. Chad has already deployed its army along its borders as well as sending the additional contingent to Cameroon.
Chad's President Idriss Deby has also mentioned taking back the strategic Nigerian town of Baga from Boko Haram, situated on Lake Chad.
The African Union AU called for support on Friday for a regional five-nation force of 7 500 troops to defeat the "horrendous" rise of Boko Haram.
The group's uprising has become a regional nemesis, with the four directly affected countries - Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria - agreeing along with Benin to forestall cooperation to contain the threat and to form a Multinational Joint Task Force.
More than 13 000 individuals have been killed and more than one million made homeless by Boko Haram violence since 2009.
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