Nigerian army says 54 people rescued from Boko Haram

LAGOS, Nigeria – The Nigerian army says it has rescued 54 women and children held captive by the extremist group Boko Haram. A statement issued Monday by military spokesman Sagir Musa says troops rescued the captives during a clearance operation over the weekend in Borno State.

The military spokesman said the rescued persons consist of 29 women and 25 children.

Sagir said Boko Haram fighters had fled the villages before troops arrived.

Boko Haram frequently abducts women and children. The jihadist group began its insurgency in northeastern Nigeria and now has expanded its reach to the neighboring countries of Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

In April 2014, 276 girls were abducted from the Government Secondary School in Chibok. More than 100 of them are still missing five years later.

 

source: www.foxnews.com

Somalia Car Bomb Near Presidential Palace Kills 4 People

At least four people were killed and scores of others were injured in a bomb explosion at the Warta-Nabada district headquarters in the Somalia capital, Mogadishu, the Horn of Africa nation’s police said.

The car bomb that was set off inside the headquarters also destroyed nearby houses, Abdi Shino, a Somali police officer, said by phone. The al-Shabaab militant group, which is linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Warta-Nabada headquarters is located in a heavily guarded neighborhood close to the presidential palace. Tuesday’s attack in Mogadishu is the first during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when the insurgency traditionally increases attacks.

source: Bloomberg