Cameroon forces capture regional Boko Haram chief, free 900 captives

Assomo said also that 100 Boko Haram members had been killed in the process.

The freed are being reunited with their families, he said.

Boko Haram has killed more than 10,000 people since launching its campaign for a strict Muslim state in northern Nigeria six years ago.

Meanwhile, preliminary investigations, Usman said, revealed that the minor was from Bama town and is among four other children trained for suicide bombing by the Boko Haram terrorists.

Boko Haram fights against western influence in Nigeria and aims to impose its version of Sharia law in the country.

In the past Boko Haram militants used the sparsely populated forest region to stockpile weapons and launch attacks.

Despite the success of the mission, Cameroon’s army couldn’t find the 219 schoolgirls who were kidnapped from a school in Chibok town in 2014.

Senior military officer Colonel Jacob Kodji said yesterday that the extremists have been using teenage suicide bombers and planting landmines.

Beti stated that the operation’s success was thanks to the collaboration between Nigeria’s army and the security forces of Cameroon, which is now focused in combating the Boko Haram group. A day earlier, two male suicide bombers attacked a mosque in the city and killed 32 Muslim worshipers. The government denies that Boko Haram holds any territory in Cameroon.

Cameroonian Army spokesman Didier Badjeck hailed the raid on the border with Nigeria as an overwhelming success.

However since Cameroon’s borders with Chad and Nigeria became a target for terrorists the park has all but been abandoned by tourists.

In total, more than 100 people have been killed in the far north of Cameroon in 20 suicide attacks since July.

The Nigerian military has however not confirmed the incident.