At Least 20 Cameroon Hostages Freed

At least 20 hostages who were kidnapped on Sunday in Cameroon by Boko Haram militants had been freed by Monday, according to a Cameroon defense ministry spokesman and media reports.

Officials in Cameroon said Boko Haram militants kidnapped at least 60 people, including children, Sunday in a cross-border raid from Nigeria, around the village of Mabass in northern Cameroon.

Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said the Cameroon army was able to free nearly two dozen hostages taken Sunday by Boko Haram.

"They were freed as defense forces pursued the attackers who were heading back to Nigeria,” Badjeck said.

Cameron's national radio and television confirmed the reported release of hostages but did not provide any details.

Officials said several people who tried to stop the militants were killed and about 80 homes were burned to the ground.

It was one of the largest abductions in Cameroon. There are mounting fears the Islamist group is expanding its operations into neighboring countries.

Barbaric, lawless group

Cameroon's Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary called the kidnappers barbaric and lawless and said nothing can stop them from killing.

The kidnappings came a day after Chad sent thousands of troops into Cameroon to help fight Boko Haram -- the Nigerian Islamic militant group that African officials said is quickly becoming a threat to the entire region.

Boko Haram has been seizing territory along the border between Nigeria and Chad. It recently took control of a military base near the shores of Lake Chad, killing a number of villagers.

Brutal raids, massacres, suicide bomb attacks and kidnappings by the Islamist group have claimed at least 13,000 lives and driven an estimated 1.5 million people from their homes, mainly in its stronghold in northeast Nigeria.

Gunmen believed to be from Boko Haram have attacked the town of Gombi where residents said the militants exchanged fire with soldiers stationed there.  

P.P. Elesha, a spokesman for Adawama state Governor Bala James Ngillari, confirmed the attack to VOA's Hausa service and said the governor assured residents everything possible is being done to restore normalcy.

Adawama is one of three northeastern Nigerian states where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May 2013 as part of an effort to battle Boko Haram. 

Late last year, security forces and vigilantes pushed the militants from Gombi and the nearby towns of Mubi and Hong.

There was also a suicide bombing early Sunday at a bus station in the northern city of Potiskum that killed four people and wounded at least 25 others.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on Boko Haram.

Nigeria holds a presidential election February 14 and many Nigerians feel President Jonathan has done too little to stop the militants.

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