Nigerian forces capture 220 Boko Haram fighters

ABUJA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian government forces have captured 220 Boko Haram fighters in recent clearance operations on the terror group's enclaves, a spokesman for the army said on Saturday.

The troops captured 167 terrorists after raiding their enclaves in Lake Chad Basin, while 53 others were captured in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, said Onyema Nwachukwu, the army spokesman.

Nwachukwu said the troops also extricated 67 women and 173 children, who were family members of the insurgents.

According to the official, an arrangement was underway to hand over the women and children to authorities of Internally Displaced Persons' camps, after completing preliminary investigations.

The government forces have intensified their operations to clear remnants of the terror group in the region, he said, noting the clearance operations so far had yielded positive results. Enditem