Nigerian military arrest terrorists disguising as women

Nigeria's military on Monday said some terrorists disguising as women have been arrested following a thorough cordon and search in Baga town in northeastern state.

Major General Chris Olukolade, the defense headquarters spokesperson, said in a statement reaching Xinhua that the searches are also yielding more discoveries of arms especially bombs hidden in various locations, especially Baga town.

He added that many arrests of terrorists hiding in the town are being made and troops are still busy interrogating the suspects, apart from those captured in the course of fighting.

The military spokesperson said the Nigerian Air Force has stepped up its air bombardment of identified targets in Gwoza, Bama and Sambisa forest, preparatory to other phases of the mission, toward clearing terrorists from all their enclaves by the military.

According to him, the air strikes have been highly successful as they achieved the aims, hitting vital targets with required precision, noting that terrorists are now in disarray as they scamper to escape from the impact of air bombardment of their locations in the forest.

The latest operation against Boko Haram is coming on the heels according to the agreement reached by regional leaders from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger to adopt a coordinated response to the group which has killed about 13,000 people and displaced over 1 million others.

The African Union Peace and Security Council held in January adopted a resolution to establish an initial 7,500 troops to combat the Boko Haram insurgents.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to disrupt Nigeria's general election in a new video released Tuesday, after two suicide attacks in northeastern Nigeria blamed on the group killed 38 people.

The group has in the past two months upgraded their tactics from bombings, raids and kidnappings to trying to seize territory. Endi