'Massive' troop deployment in Nigeria NIGERIA'S military has announced the "massive" deployment of troops to its restive northeast, after the president declared a state of emergency in areas where Islamist insurgents have seized territory. A separate military source speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that fighter jets would also be deployed to the region, raising the possibility that Nigeria could carry out air strikes within its own territory. President Goodluck Jonathan issued the emergency decree in a broadcast late on Tuesday, acknowledging for the first time that Boko Haram Islamists had "taken over" parts of Borno state, the insurgents' stronghold. "Nigerian Armed Forces ... have commenced operations to rid the nation's border territories of terrorist bases," a military statement said. The operations which will involve massive deployment of men and resources, is aimed at asserting the nation's territorial integrity. The emergency measures applied to Borno and two neighbouring states, Yobe and Adamawa. Boko Haram, which says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mostly Muslim north, had used Borno's capital of Maiduguri as a home base, but its fighters have relocated to remote border regions following a crackdown in the city. The borders with Chad and Niger are porous and analysts say that criminal groups, including weapons dealers, have for years migrated freely between countries. Nigeria has warned that Boko Haram has increasingly sought ties with like-minded foreign groups, including al-Qaeda's north African wing and has gained access in recent months to more powerful weapons, some of which have been brought in through unchecked borders. Brutal clashes between soldiers and Islamist gunmen on April 16 led to the deaths of about 200 people in the town of Baga on Lake Chad, half of which was destroyed by fire during the fighting.