Nigerian army rescues 178 from Boko Haram

Nigeria’s army has reported freeing almost 180 hostages held by Boko Haram jihadists in a rescue operation in the war-torn northeast of the country. The military said 67 of those freed were women.

The leaders of Nigeria and Benin met in Benin’s capital, Cotonou, on Saturday to consolidate their continued cooperation along their shared border in tackling Boko Haram.

The army says it has freed hundreds of Boko Haram captives this year.

Meanwhile, Boko Haram distributed a new video on Twitter on Sunday purporting to show attacks on army barracks in Borno and Yobe.

“This morning 13 bodies were recovered, some had been shot in the back, which means they were fleeing when the terrorists killed them”, Maiduguri added.

The multinational force is expected to be more effective than a current regional anti-Boko Haram campaign launched in February.

The captured Boko Haram kingpin, according to a statement by Col Tukur Gusau, Deputy Director Army Public Relations, 7 Division Nigerian Army, is presently undergoing investigation.

Since 2012, more than 15,000 people are estimated to have been killed in bloody attacks with nearly a million people forced to flee.

Boko Haram has released a new video in which the group calls on militants to prepare to fight Nigerian and African Union troops now deployed in Nigeria’s northeastern region and in parts of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

The source also told Ramolo that Boko Haram’s attacks in Chad have left at least 70 people dead and more than 200 wounded, noting that the violence happened mostly around the city of N’Djamena and other areas bordering Nigeria.

The drive was supposed to start out operations on July 31 however has been dogged by a scarcity of funding and political will.

Malari has seen a number of attacks from Boko Haram in recent months.

Witnesses in nearby villages said the militants had set fire to houses, sending columns of black smoke into the sky.