World

Boko Haram 'loses key Nigeria town'

November 13, 2014 5:18 pm

The Nigerian army has recaptured the north-eastern town of Mubi from militant Islamist group Boko Haram, the state governor has said.

A resident of the town confirmed this to the BBC, saying he had seen the bodies of many Boko Haram fighters.

Mubi was the biggest town under the group’s control and is the first it has lost since August, when it declared a caliphate in areas it had seized.

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Boko Haram still controls several towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria.

Thousands have been killed since it launched its insurgency in 2009.

Boko Haram last month dismissed the government’s claims to have agreed a ceasefire.

The militants seized Mubi, the second largest town in the north-eastern Adamawa state, in October, renaming it Madinatul Islam – City of Islam.

Residents there said militants imposed Islamic Sharia law and carried out executions and amputations.