DHAKA: A second girl who was kidnapped along with more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in a Nigerian town of Chibok more than two years ago has been rescued.

Army spokesman Sani Usman said in an emailed statement that the girl was among 97 women and children held hostage by Boko Haram who were freed on Thursday morning after clashes between soldiers and armed fighters in the northeastern Borno state, Al Jazeera reports on Friday (May 20).

However, at least thirty-five Boko Haram fighters were killed in the fighting.

Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki, the first ‘Chibok girl’ to be rescued, was found by soldiers working with a vigilante group on Tuesday near Damboa, south of Maiduguri in the remote northeast where Boko Haram has waged a seven-year rebellion to set up their own state.

Officials confirmed that Amina was one of 219 girls abducted from the government school in Chibok in April 2014. Late on Thursday, the army said an operation in Damboa led to the rescue of nearly 100 hostages that included the second Chibok schoolgirl.

‘We are glad to state that among those rescued is a girl believed to be one of the Chibok Government Secondary School girls that were abducted,’ said Usman, adding that she was receiving medical treatment.

He said her name is Serah Luka and she was from the northeastern town of Madagali, in the state of Adamawa, which borders Borno.

BDST: 1329 HRS, May 20, 2016
SAS/