Nigerian army "frees nearly 180 Boko Haram hostages"

Nigeria's army claims to have freed nearly 180 hostages – including more than 100 children – held by Boko Haram jihadists in a dramatic weekend rescue. The operation in the country's conflict-torn north-east also led to the capture of a Boko Haram commander, an army spokesman said in a statement late Sunday. The military said earlier that it had killed a "large number" of the extremists in air strikes in the north-east. The operation took place on Sunday near Aulari, about 70 kilometres (40 miles) south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, once a jihadist stronghold.

"During the offensive operations, 178 people held captive by the terrorists were rescued," military spokesman Colonel Tukur Gusau said, without specifying when the rescue took place. "They include 101 children, 67 women and 10 men." The Nigerian military has announced the release of hundreds of people held by Boko Haram in recent months, especially in the notorious Sambisa forest, a long-time Islamist stronghold.

The air strikes hit the village of Bita on the fringes of the forest not far from the Cameroonian border, where Boko Haram was preparing to launch an offensive, the military said. "Many" Islamists were killed, it added.

Sunday's rescue came after several attacks by Boko Haram in recent days. Thirteen people were killed in an assault on Malari village about 20 kilometres from Maiduguri.

Boko Haram has increasingly expanded its operations into neighbouring countries in recent months, prompting Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger to launch a co-ordinated military fightback. The four countries, along with Benin, are preparing to launch a new 8,700-strong force that officials say will go into action soon. Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou on Sunday vowed that the new regional force would "eradicate" the insurgents. "The multinational joint force will eradicate... the blind terrorism of Boko Haram," Issoufou said in a televised speech.

The jihadist group has stepped up its attacks since Nigeria's new President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just two months. Witnesses said the group attacked the town of Gamboru on Saturday, near the border with Cameroon. Residents in nearby villages said the militants had set fire to houses, sending columns of black smoke into the sky.    (AFP)

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Militant Islamism in Nigeria: The radical seed of Boko Haram