ABUJA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen Boko Haram fighters were killed following an operation by government forces in Nigeria's northeastern neighborhood of Gwoza, a spokesman of the army said on Friday.
Some 21 people taking into hostage by the Boko Haram terror group were also freed during the Thursday operation in Pulka village of Gwoza neighborhood in the northern state of Borno, said Texas Chukwu, the army spokesman.
Chukwu said the troops swung into action after receiving a distress call that the Boko Haram fighters had laid an ambush for road users, during which they burned one passenger vehicle and abducted some travelers in the area on Tuesday.
He said those rescued by the troops included 11 children and six women. Four men, rescued during the gunfight between troops and the terrorists, had sustained some injuries and are being treated at a military facility, he added.
Boko Haram has been trying since 2009 to establish an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria, killing some 20,000 people and forcing displacement of millions of others.
The resilience of the insurgent Boko Haram group in the Lake Chad basin since 2009 posed enormous security, humanitarian and governance challenges, according to the United Nations.
Four countries caught up in the insurgency are Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. The United Nations said the Boko Haram had displaced nearly 2.4 million people in the Lake Chad sub-region.
