A joint operation by the US Marines and Nigerian Army was inching nearer to the location where the Nigerian Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram is hiding the kidnapped 200-plus Chibok schoolgirls, reported Nigerian News Source Vanguard.
During the operation, the US marines were able to track a broadcast between two Boko Haram commanders. The marines later traced the location of one of the commanders to Maiduguri.
The Nigerian Army has been quite tight-lipped about the arrest but, within a day after the arrest, top Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau sent in a video clip and demanded the release of Boko Haram men, in exchange of the abducted girls.
On Wednesday, Shekau appeared in the second video, with regards to the Chibok girls' abduction. In the video, the girls were seen dressed in Muslim attire. Shekau claimed that the girls have been converted to Islam. He then asked the government to release all Boko Haram militants currently lodged in Nigerian prisons, in exchange for the girls.
Beside the US special forces, counter insurgency forces from the UK and France will also soon be joining the Nigerian forces to assist in the search for the kidnapped girls.
The abduction of the schoolgirls has drawn widespread anger from around the world, with calls for a swift action. The arrest of the Boko Haram commander is expected to help the forces to gain much intel on the hideouts and the operational strategies of the Islamic militant group.
