Troops ‘rescue’ 370 Boko Haram captives

The Nigeria army says it has rescued 370 hostages from Boko Haram.

Hassan Umaru,  theatre commander of operation lafiya dole, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Maiduguri on Friday, also revealed that troops killed 63 Boko Haram insurgents and foiled some suicide bomb attacks within the week.

Speaking through Lucky Irabor, the deputy commander,  Umaru said that the troops recovered many “AK47 rifles, ammunition, anti-aircraft gun, RPG, GMPG, IEDs, vehicles and motorcycles among other items from the terrorists”.

“Our troops conducted a fighting patrol at Afe, Kudiye, Souma, Dikwa Mijigeta, Mida villages of Borno state. During the operation our troops came in contact with Boko Haram terrorists at Kudiye and Mijigete where 370 hostages were rescued and brought to the IDP camp in Dikwa and three rifles and 41 motorcycles were destroyed,” he said.

“The troops also cleared some Boko Haram hideouts in Wala, Tirkopytir and Durubajuwe in Gwoza local government area, where they recovered GMPG, locally made Dane gun and a grinding machine.

“In Huyum in Askira/Uba local government area, the terrorists sighting troops abandoned their families behind which include five women and 12 children and were currently undergoing interrogation.

“The troops also intercepted three suspected suicide bombers trying to infiltrate Maiduguri, along Maiduguri-Mafa checkpoint of Borno state.”

He explained that two female suicide bombers blew themselves up while a male suicide bomber was immediately gunned down while trying to run into the troops at a checkpoint.