Cameroonian and Nigerian forces have claimed to freed several hundred hostages in a border town of Nigeria held by Boko Haram including young girls, who were being reportedly trained as suicide bombers. Commander of Cameroonian forces, General Jacob Kodji told Associated Press that soldiers from the two countries also killed about 100 militants while liberating the Nigerian town of Kumshe. The town is 15 kilometers from the border with Cameroon.
Boko Haram began its insurgency six years ago in Nigeria, and has since expanded to the countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad as those neighbors have aided the military effort to quash the extremists.
The terror outfit, which has pledged its loyalty to the Islamic State group, has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 2.8 million in West Africa, according to the United Nations and Amnesty International. Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls from the Nigerian town of Chibok in April 2014. Dozens escaped on their own but more than 200 girls from Chibok remain missing.