Three soldiers and 123 Boko Haram militants have been killed during a series of fierce clashes between the Chadian army and members of the Nigeria-based Boko Haram Takfiri militant group in northern Cameroon.

The Chadian military said in a statement on Friday that the violent clashes erupted after a large group of militants attacked an army contingent near Fotokol town in Cameroon's Far North Region.

At least 12 soldiers were also wounded in attacks carried out by the militant group on Thursday and Friday in the troubled region, the statement added.

The N'Djamena government has sent a convoy of troops and 400 military vehicles into neighboring Cameroon to deal with the growing threat of militancy.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya had announced on January 15 that neighboring Chad was going to send military troops to help Cameroonian forces fight the Boko Haram militants.

On January 12, the Cameroonian army killed 143 Boko Haram militants as they mounted an offensive on a military camp in the northern border town of Kolofata.

Cameroon also launched airstrikes against Boko Haram on December 28, after nearly 1,000 militants from the group assaulted a military camp located near the northern border. The Cameroonian troops in the camp were forced to flee. However, the base was retaken later.

Since last May, when President Biya declared war on Boko Haram, thousands of Cameroonian troops have been deployed to defend the Far North Region.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” aims to overthrow the government in Nigeria.