Suspected Islamists kidnap 60 women in Nigeria

KANO, Nigeria — Suspected Boko Haram militants abducted 60 women from two villages in northeastern Nigeria, a security official said. The move comes less than a week after the government announced it had reached a truce with the Islamist group.

The women were taken over the weekend from the state of Adamawa, the Nigerian security official said, asking not to be identified. The area has been under militant control for about two months, the official said.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, based in the capital, Abuja, didn’t answer calls seeking comment Thursday.

On Oct. 17, the government said the Islamist group had signaled willingness to discuss the release of more than 200 schoolgirls that Boko Haram fighters abducted in April from the town of Chibok and threatened to sell into slavery.

Boko Haram, which roughly translates as “Western education is a sin,” has killed more than 13,000 people since 2009 in Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan said in September, before the government announced it had agreed a cease-fire with the militants.

Since then, persistent violence in the northeast has eroded confidence in the cease-fire claim, with analysts and community leaders questioning the legitimacy of the deal.

“It’s our understanding that negotiations about a deal to release the girls continue,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters on Oct. 20.

On Wednesday, Nigerian lawmakers approved a request to borrow $1 billion for its armed forces. Nigeria spends around $6 billion a year on security.