Nigeria: Boko Haram is crushed, forced out of last enclave

Over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in April 2014 by Boko Haram militants from a school

Lagos, Dec 24: Nigeria's president says the Boko Haram extremist group has finally been crushed, has been driven from its last forest stronghold with fighters on the run and no place to hide.

But despite President Muhammadu Buhari's victorious announcement on Saturday, Nigeria is unlikely to see an end soon to the deadly suicide bombings, village attacks and assaults on remote military outposts carried out by Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist group.

Buhari says "gallant troops" on Friday drove the insurgents out of their "Camp Zero" deep in the northeastern Sambisa Forest.

The forest is also believed to hold more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 by Boko Haram from a school in the town of Chibok. Buhari urges troops to intensify efforts "to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity."

PTI