Cameroon’s army has freed 24 out of some 80 hostages kidnapped during a cross-border attack by suspected Boko Haram Islamist fighters, Reuters quoted a Cameroonian defence ministry spokesman to have said on Monday.
The kidnapping, which occurred in the north of Cameroon on Sunday around the village of Mabass, was one of the largest abductions on Cameroonian soil. Many children were among the hostages.
“The Cameroon army was able to free about 24 hostages taken yesterday (Sunday) by Boko Haram in the far north. They were freed as defence forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria,” said ministry spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck.
Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and kidnapped hundreds in its bid to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. In recent months, it has targeted neighbouring Cameroon and Niger as it seeks to expand its zone of operations.
At the weekend, Chad deployed troops to help Cameroon in its efforts to tackle the insurgency in the area. On the Sunday abductions, a senior army officer deployed to northern Cameroon had said,
“According to our initial information, around 30 adults, most of them herders, and 50 young girls and boys aged between 10 and 15 years were abducted.”
He said the early-morning attack had targeted the village of Mabass and other villages along the porous border. Soldiers intervened and exchanged fire with the raiders for around two hours, he added.
Government spokesman, Issa Tchiroma, confirmed the attack, in which he said three people had been killed, as well as the kidnappings. He was not able to say with certainty how many people had been taken in the raid.
“There was a Boko Haram attack on several localities in the Far North region. The assailants burnt down about 80 homes and kidnapped several inhabitants including women and very young children,” he said.

SOURCE
http://www.reportnaija.com/2015/01/cameroon-frees-24-hostages-after-bharam.html