63 Boko Haram captives rescued

Nigeria’s military on Thursday said it rescued 63 people after dislodging Boko Haram fighters from a village in the north eastern part of the country.

Five Boko Haram fighters were also killed, according to the military.

“During the operation, they (the soldiers) killed five Boko Haram terrorists and also rescued 63 people held captive by the terrorists” a statement from the military’s spokesperson Sani Usman said, adding that weapons and ammunition were discovered.

The five fighters were killed in their hideouts in the villages of Lawin Meleri, Matiri Bulaka and Aljeri, the statement added.

The military said the soldiers also destroyed Boko Haram camps in the Alagarno forest in Borno State, near the Sambisa forest.

Troops Rescued 63 Persons From Terrorists https://t.co/uFKjRLKf6F skusman NTANewsNow TVCNews_Africa channelstv pic.twitter.com/gzOarJ4qfX

— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) March 3, 2016

“The troops, based on tip-off, conducted a clearance operation around Alagarno forest general area, destroying terrorists camps at Mosa, Ariwuzumari and Kagalmari as well as Missene, Joba, Yajiwa and Sansan,” the military said.

“During the operations, the troops were able to clear all the camps, killing quite a number of terrorists and recovered Boko Haram terrorists’ flags hoisted on some premises, destroyed their logistics base and recovered 31 motorcycles, assorted foodstuffs, a donkey and a pick up van,” the military statement further said.

Boko Haram’s insurgency since 2009 to carve out an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has left at least 17,000 dead and some 2.6 million others homeless.

A regional force involving troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin has been set up to fight the extremists.