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Nigeria’s army says it has freed 360 men, women and children abducted by Boko Haram and held in a mountain stronghold in the country’s northeast.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, Boko Haram is a jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria that has waged a violent insurgency across the Lake Chad region for more than a decade. Founded in 2002 in Borno state by the cleric Mohammed Yusuf, the group seeks to topple governments and impose a strict version of Islamic law. It is notorious for massacring entire villages, bombing schools, mosques, markets and churches, and deploying women and children as suicide bombers. The group has also kidnapped thousands of people and has been widely documented forcing abducted women and girls into sexual slavery and forced “marriages” while conscripting boys as child soldiers.
What’s going on now: According to Nigeria’s army, its forces carried out an intelligence-led assault that relied heavily on drones, signals intercepts and long-range patrols to pinpoint the mountain camp and infiltrate the insurgents’ network. Troops launched a coordinated attack under cover of darkness, and spokesperson Haruna Sani said the raid “achieved complete tactical surprise, overwhelming the terrorists before an organised response could be mounted.” The military said some fighters fled while others surrendered.
The freed captives, who had been held under brutal conditions, were evacuated for medical care, though the rescue came at a cost, as two infants died from exhaustion brought on by the terrain and their prolonged captivity.
The group had kidnapped these people when it raided the community of Ngoshe in March and later paraded them in propaganda videos. According to reports, Boko Haram was seeking about $3.5 million for their release.
This all comes as Nigeria has been going after Boko Haram more aggressively in recent months, with the US actively providing assistance in targeting and intelligence.
