n Nigerian security forces have rescued dozens of captives mostly women and children held by Islamic extremist rebels in the country’s hard-hit northeastern region, the army said.The Nigerian army said late Monday the 25 captives were rescued during “clearance operations” by its troops in Borno state’s Gwoza district, a hotbed for the jihadi violence that has upended lives and livelihoods in the region since 2009, when Boko Haram extremists launched an insurgency.
Fourteen of the captives were first to be rescued on Saturday in Gobara village while 11 others were freed on Sunday when troops raided the rebel hideout in Gava village, both around 130 km (80 miles) from Borno state capital, Maiduguri, said army spokeman Onyema Nwachukwu.
The army shared pictures of the freed hostages that included toddlers. Most of them looked malnourished and wore worn-out clothes, suggesting that they might have been held for a long time.
“All rescued victims are presently in troops’ custody undergoing profiling,” Nwachukwu said, describing the operations as part of the “unrelenting efforts to clear remnants of Boko Haram terrorists enclaves” in Borno and other states. He said that seven members of a “Boko Haram terrorist family” surrendered to troops on Sunday in a separate operation.