Nigeria army 'retakes Mubi from Boko Haram'

A recent Boko Haram video showed fighters parading an armoured vehicle in an unidentified town

The Nigerian army has retaken the key town of Mubi from militant Islamist group Boko Haram, the regional governor told the BBC.

Boko Haram seized Mubi, the second largest town in the north-eastern Adamawa state, in October, renaming it Madinatul Islam - City of Islam.
It was the biggest town under the group's control.
Residents there said militants imposed Islamic Sharia law and carried out executions and amputations.
Adamawa state governor Bala Ngilari said government forces had recaptured the town, although there was no independent confirmation of this.
Some reports said Boko Haram had withdrawn after looting the town, rather than as the result of direct fighting.
However, Mr Ngilari's chief of staff, Chibudo Babbi, told the BBC Hausa Service that remnants of the group were being flushed out of Mubi by the military.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has declared a caliphate in areas he controls

Residents were being told to exercise caution during the operation, he added.
The BBC's Muhammad Kabir Muhammad in Abuja says that if Nigerian troops have recaptured the town, it will be a rare piece of good news from the region for the army.
Many Nigerians, though, may not be quick to celebrate this success, he says, given that many other towns and villages are still under the group's control.
In August, Boko Haram said it had established an Islamic state in areas it controls in north-eastern Nigeria.
Analysts say the group has changed tactics in recent months by holding on to territory rather than launching hit-and-run attacks.
In April, the militants captured more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the town of Chibok, in Borno state.
Countries such as China, France, the UK and US have sent military assistance to help find the girls but they have not yet been rescued.

 

Source: BBC