The Islamists attacked the village of Jintilo on the outskirts of the city around 5:00 a.m. but were engaged in a gunbattle by troops stationed there. The village is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the center of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
The militants launched a simultaneous attack on the town of Monguno, about 125 kilometers (75 miles) from the city.
“Troops are repelling a simultaneous attack on Monguno and Maiduguri by terrorists,” the Defense Ministry said on Twitter.
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A military officer confirmed the release of the hostages by Boko Haram.
On January 6, dozens of Boko Haram gunmen stormed Katarko, where they killed 25 men and threw the bodies in open wells, burned the entire village and kidnapped the women and children, according to Aisami and local vigilantes.
The attack was apparently in reprisal for a raid on a Boko Haram enclave by local hunters and vigilantes in Buni Yadi, 20 kilometers away, hours earlier. Several Boko Haram fighters were killed in that raid; scores of others were arrested and an arsenal was seized, according to vigilantes.
