Nigerian troops have rescued 200 girls from Sambisa forest, the notorious hideout of the insurgent group, Boko Haram, the defence headquarters said Tuesday.
The girls were found Tuesday afternoon alongside 93 women who were also rescued, the military said.
The military however said it could not confirm whether the girls were students abducted more than a year ago from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State.
The girls were being “screened and profiled”, the military said.
“Troops this afternoon rescued 200 girls & 93 women from Sambisa Forest. We cannot confirm if the #ChibokGirls are in this group,” the military said in a series of tweets.
“Troops captured and destroyed 3 terrorists camps including the notorious Tokumbere camp in the Sambisa Forest Operation.
“The freed persons are now being screened and profiled,” while promising to provide more detail on the operation later.”
The Chibok girls were abducted by Boko Haram militants on April 14, 2014.
PRNigeria, a news website which distributes press statements for the military and other Nigerian government agencies, reported that at least three major terrorists camps were destroyed during the operation.
The website quoted the Director of Defence Information, Chris Olukolade, a major general, as confirming the operations.
“I can only confirm the rescued this afternoon of 200 girls and 93 women in different camps in the forest. We are yet to determine their origin as all the freed persons are now being screened and profiled. Please don’t misquote me on their origin. We will provide more details later,” Mr. Olukolade said.
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