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	More women and children have been rescued from Islamic extremists in the remote Sambisa Forest by Nigerian troops amid reports that some of the women have fought their rescuers.</p>
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	A community leader from the area of north-east Nigeria said today that a senior army officer who was at the scene described the women opening fire on shocked troops in the village of Nbita a week ago, with Boko Haram Islamic insurgents using the women to shield their main fighting force.</p>
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	He said he was told that 12 women fighters and seven soldiers died in that firefight.</p>
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	The Nigerian military first reported rescuing almost 300 women and children in the Sambisa Forest on Tuesday after deploying ground troops into the forest more than a week ago. Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman told the Associated Press today that more than 100 girls and more than 50 women were rescued, apart from the first reported group.</p>
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	He also said in a statement that several lives were lost, including that of a soldier and a woman, during shootouts in nine separate extremist camps in the forest.</p>
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	He said eight women suffered gunshot wounds and four soldiers were seriously injured. Who shot the women was not clear. The rescued women and children were evacuated to a safety zone for further processing, Col Usman said in the statement.</p>
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	He also said several Boko Haram field commanders and foot soldiers were killed and combat tanks and munitions of high calibre used by Boko Haram were recovered while others were destroyed.</p>
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	The military was flying in medical and intelligence teams to evaluate the former captives, many of whom were severely traumatised, Col Usman said earlier.</p>
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	It remained unclear if any of the schoolgirls kidnapped from the north-eastern town of Chibok a year ago were among those rescued.</p>
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	The plight of the schoolgirls, who have become known as &quot;the Chibok girls&quot;, aroused international outrage and a campaign for their release under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Their kidnapping brought Boko Haram, whose nickname means &quot;Western education is forbidden&quot; in the local Hausa language, to the world&#39;s attention. Of the Chibok girls, 219 remain missing.</p>
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	Nigerian military and counter-insurgency spokesmen have said they have information indicating that at least some of the Chibok girls still are being held in the Sambisa Forest.</p>
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	Some captives have reportedly become indoctrinated into believing the group&#39;s Islamic extremist ideology, while others established strong emotional attachments to militants they had been forced to marry.</p>
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	Amnesty International said earlier this month that at least 2,000 women and girls have been taken by Boko Haram since the start of 2014.</p>
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	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/world-news/africa/more-boko-haram-captives-rescued-by-nigerian-army-31186487.html">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/africa/more-boko-haram-captives-rescued-by-nigerian-army-31186487.html</a></p>
