ABUJA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian military said Thursday that it has killed up to 392 gunmen across the northwest and north-central regions in a major operation that has lasted multiple days since last month.

The spokesman for the military, John Enenche, told the media in Abuja that the joint operation, which started in the northwestern state of Katsina on May 14, is aimed at ending the menace of banditry and other crimes in the northern region.

Through that operation, troops successfully degraded the gunmen in the two regions and a follow-up operation was launched on June 1 to further degrade the gunmen who fled and later attacked civilian targets, according to Enenche.

"It is a concomitant operation by all the theaters of operations in the northwest and north-central regions of the country targeted at tackling banditry and other criminal activities. In this regard, all identified hideouts and hibernations of the enemies will be decisively cleared through land and air combat actions," the military spokesman added.