LAGOS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian government forces in the northeastern state of Borno have rescued 211 civilians from the Boko Haram group, the army authorities said Sunday.
Troops of 22 Brigade Garrison, Operation Lafiya Dole, rescued the victims during an operation in Cingal Murye and Maja villages on Saturday, Sani Usman, the army spokesman said in a statement made available to Xinhua.
One terrorist was neutralized while 11 bicycles were recovered from the fleeing terrorists, he added, noting that security team also escorted two heavy-duty trucks and 18 pickup vans to recover Internally Displaced Persons' food stuff from Mala Maja.
The Boko Haram insurgency has been blamed for more than 20,000 deaths and displacement of 2.3 million people since 2009.
Nigeria has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces operating in the restive region dislodging the Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, the group's largest training camp in the country, last December.
The security forces are intensifying aerial and ground patrols in the country's northeast, extending their offensive mission around the Green Belt Region near Niger and Chad.
