At least 31 extremist militants were killed in anti-terror operations by troops in Nigeria's northeast region in the past two weeks, a military official said Thursday, Xinhua reported. Musa Danmadami, the spokesman for the military, told reporters in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, that 70 other suspected members of the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) groups were arrested during the operations involving all the military agencies. Out of the 70 suspects detained, 60 were logistics suppliers conveying grains, ammunition, and fuel, among others, to the militant groups, Danmadami said.

Two civilian hostages were freed during the period, the official said, noting a total of 366 militants and their families surrendered in various locations to the troops in that part of the country, according to Xinhua.

The surrendered militants and their families are being profiled for further action, he added. The ISWAP has been collaborating with its sister group Boko Haram to establish an Islamist state in northeast Nigeria. The groups have also extended their attacks to other countries in the Lake Chad Basin.