By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

The Nigerian army has freed another 350 Boko Haram captives, including five girls the militants had abducted in Cameroon, spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement on Tuesday.

Usman said the rescue occurred amid ongoing clearance operations by the Nigerian troops across the restive northeastern Borno State region where Boko Haram has reigned for years.

"In their efforts, troops […] conducted a joint fighting patrol to a suspected Boko Haram terrorists enclave […] in Mafa and Dikwa Local Governments Areas [in Borno State]," said the statement. "In the encounter, 5 Boko Haram terrorists were killed, an AK-47 rifle, 10 motorcycles and 1 logistics truck belonging to the terrorists were recovered. The troops also rescued 350 people held hostages by the terrorists. Among those rescued were 5 girls abducted from Cameroon."

He said two militants were also arrested in the village of Kubwa in Borno State while army patrol teams raided militants' enclaves.

Nigeria insists it has won the six-year bloody insurgency in its northeastern region, eve though militants continue to inflict huge casualties through suicide bombings. Information Minister Lai Mohammed said early Tuesday that Boko Haram “remains massively degraded and largely defeated.”