Nigeria Claims to Have Freed 200 Girls From Boko Haram Stronghold

Nigeria's government on Tuesday claimed that it had rescued nearly 300 women and girls from a Boko Haram stronghold in the country's northeast Borno State.

Nigeria's military made the announcement Tuesday, claiming to have rescued 200 girls and 93 women from a well-known Islamic State stronghold in the Sambisa Forest.

"Troops have this afternoon captured & destroyed 3 camps of terrorists inside the Sambisa forest & rescued 200 girls & 93 women," Nigeria's defense spokesman Chris Olukolade told the AFP in a statement.

The government has been careful in confirming that some of the girls found this week may be the same schoolgirls kidnapped from the city of Chibok last year.

"It is not yet confirmed if the girls are the Chibok girls. The freed persons are now being screened & profiled," Olukolade added.

The military also took to Twitter to announce that the hostages had been rescued and that the terrorist camps found inside the Sambisa forest had been destroyed.

News of the alleged rescue of women and girls comes shortly after members of the Boko Haram group reportedly attacked the Bultaram village, killing 21 as they raided livestock and food.

Those who survived the raid on the village told the Daily Post that "the insurgents came from Sambisa forest axis and stormed the villages on Monday evening, wrecked havoc as they had a field day without confrontation."

The kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from the Chibok village last year sparked an international outcry that called for the Nigerian government to do more to find the girls. While dozens had escaped the captivity of the terrorist group, over 200 were still kept hostage by the group and could not be found.