Army officials said on Tuesday the operation to free the captives took place in the town of <g data-gr-id="36">Dikwa</g> in Borno State, which had fallen to Boko Haram twice since April, and was recaptured by Nigerian troops last week.
“As a result of ongoing operations under the aegis of Operation <g data-gr-id="43">Lafiya</g> Dole to clear <g data-gr-id="44">Dikwa</g> and its environs from Boko Haram... (the) Nigerian Army on Tuesday rescued 30 persons from the hands of the terrorists,” army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement. “They include 21 children and a six-day-old infant, seven women including three nursing <g data-gr-id="38">mothers,</g> and two elderly male adults,” he said.
<g data-gr-id="32">Dikwa</g> is located around 90 kilometres (56 miles) east of Borno state capital Maiduguri. Earlier on Tuesday (Tuesday), 11 Boko Haram militants were killed in clashes with the military in a village in southern Borno state, a local resident and a member of the militia fighting alongside the army said.
Three militia fighters were also killed in the battle.
“On Monday afternoon around 2:00 pm (1300 GMT), Boko Haram gunmen on motorcycles attacked our village,” said Markus Yohana, a local militia member fighting the Islamists in the village of Dille. Yohana said that soldiers ambushed the raiders as they tried to flee, killing 11.
Another local, <g data-gr-id="40">Bitrus</g> <g data-gr-id="41">Damina</g>, confirmed the account. “Soldiers went after them and killed 11 of them in the bush,” <g data-gr-id="42">Damina</g> said. Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since Nigeria’s new president Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in May.
The wave of violence has claimed 830 lives in just two months, dealing a setback to a four-country offensive launched in February that had chalked up a number of victories against the jihadists.