Breaking News: Nigerian Army Rescues 200 Girls From Forest

Nigeria's army says it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women during a military operation against Boko Haram militants.

The offensive took place in the Sambisa Forest, in the northeast of the country, and destroyed three militant camps, the army said on its Twitter account.

An army spokesman has confirmed that the rescued girls are not those abducted in April 2014.

Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls near the northern village of Chibok last April, leading to an international outcry.

It is thought the Islamist extremists took the youngsters into the heavily-mined Sambisa Forest.

Earlier, Nigeria's military spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said Boko Haram fighters have been pushed out of all areas of northeast Nigeria, except for Sambisa.

The forest, which is about 60 miles from Chibok, has been pounded by air raids for weeks and ground troops reportedly entered it last week.

Mr Olukolade denied reports troops retreated from Sambisa because of land mines.

Boko Haram's Islamic uprising was blamed for the deaths of as many as 10,000 people last year.

Some 1.5 million people have been forced from their homes by the group.

The militants controlled an area roughly the size of Belgium at the start of the year, but have since been driven back by Nigerian troops, helped by soldiers from Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

  Nigerian Army Frees 200 Girls From Sambisia Forest