Cameroon military frees 900 Boko Haram captives in special operation

Cameroon’s armed forces have killed over 100 Boko Haram members and freed more than 900 hostages held by the radical Islamic group.

A regional task force backed up the Cameroon army in a special operation aimed at neutralising the terror threat in the area bordering Nigeria on the last weekend of November.

Cameroon’s defence minister Joseph Beti Assomo said weapons, firearms and Daesh flags were among items seized during sweeping raids over the adjoining Nigerian border.

Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to IS forces earlier in March after killing senior militant Al hadji Gana.

Military officials confirmed with the ABC that an operation had in fact taken place in six villages in Mayo Sava, in Cameoon’s far north region, but one said the scale of the force came as a surprise.

The hostages released were confirmed to be residents of the villages who had been taken captive by the terrorist group.

A large number of those held were handed over to a displacement camp soon after the raids.

“An operation like this may have hit one cell but that does not create a major problem for Boko Haram’s ability to execute attacks in other areas,” Ryan Cummings, chief analyst for Africa at crisis management company Red24 told the ABC.

Along with Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin, Cameroon is part of an 8,700-strong regional task force aimed at removing the threat of Boko Haram, which has expanded from Nigeria to become a widespread regional security danger.

It is common for Cameroon to deal with frequent attacks along the Nigerian border in its Northern Region.

On the Tuesday before the raids, suspected Boko Haram attackers ignited two suicide bombs in the town of Waza, far north Cameroon, killing at least three civilians.

The militants were believed to have travelled from Nigeria to attack the town, after Cameroon swore its allegiance to other African nations to rid Boko Haram.

Joint operations between Cameroon and the other nations have been hindered following the death of two soldiers by landmine in the village of Gangse the Monday before the raid.

National armies are still fighting Boko Haram independently after the terror organisation moved strikes further into Cameroon, Chad and Niger following the landmine attacks.

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