The Nigerian army says it has rescued 360 people held captive by Boko Haram in a sweeping operation through the Mandara mountains of southern Borno, a rugged frontier long regarded as one of the insurgents’ last redoubts.

Troops advanced through steep, rocky terrain to reach a cluster of remote camps where men, women and children had been held, some for years, according to military officials and local security sources. The hostages were reportedly weakened by hunger, disease and the strain of repeated displacements as fighters moved them to evade airstrikes and ground raids.

Army spokesperson Haruna Sani said two infants died from exhaustion during the arduous trek out of the mountains, underscoring the extreme conditions the captives had endured. Medical teams and humanitarian workers were deployed to stabilise the survivors, many of whom arrived barefoot and malnourished.

Sani described the operation as both a humanitarian breakthrough and a strategic gain, saying the rescued hostages were evacuated to secure locations for treatment, shelter and debriefing. Security officials believe some of those freed may provide fresh intelligence on Boko Haram’s command structure, supply routes and remaining hideouts along the Nigeria–Cameroon border.

The Mandara range has long offered natural cover to Boko Haram and its offshoots, with caves and forested valleys serving as training grounds, detention sites and staging points for raids on nearby communities. Clearing parts of this terrain, analysts say, could disrupt the group’s ability to regroup after recent battlefield losses.

Nigeria’s northeast remains at the centre of a grinding conflict that has lasted more than a decade, killing tens of thousands and forcing millions from their homes. Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province, continue to mount ambushes, bombings and mass abductions despite sustained military pressure.

Officials have highlighted recent joint operations with foreign partners, including the United States, which they say have killed scores of ISWAP fighters and destroyed weapons caches. Yet communities across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states complain that large swathes of countryside remain effectively ungoverned, leaving civilians exposed to raids and kidnappings for ransom.

Security experts argue that while the latest rescue is a significant setback for Boko Haram, it also exposes the scale of the challenge: hundreds freed in a single operation, in a conflict where thousands more are still missing.