Sixty-three women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last month in Nigeria escaped from their captors and have returned to their burnt village , a security source and a local vigilante fighting the militant group said . The hostages were seized from the Kummabza village in northern Borno state on June 18 after a four-day invasion of the village by Boko Haram insurgents . The militants killed 30 men and burned the entire village . Their escape is good news , but the Islamist terrorist group is still believed to be holding about 200 schoolgirls abducted April 14 from their hostels in the town of Chibok -- a case that drew international outrage and prompted a global campaign for their release . Boko Haram has been active as a violent group since 2009 and has killed Nigerians , both Christian and Muslim , at rates frequently exceeding 100 people weekly . The name `` Boko Haram '' translates to `` Western education is sin '' in the local Hausa language . The militant group is trying to impose strict Sharia law across Nigeria , the most populous country in Africa . The group especially opposes the education of women . Under its version of Sharia law , women should be at home raising children and looking after their husbands , not at school learning to read and write . 'Rare opportunity to escape ' The female hostages escaped Friday while their captors left their camp to launch an attack against the military and police in the nearby town of Damboa , said Bukar Kyari , a local vigilante fighting Boko Haram in Maiduguri . Soldiers overwhelmed the insurgents , forcing them to mobilize all their men and leave the abducted women in the camp , Kyari said . `` The women seized that rare opportunity to escape when they realized they were alone in the camp , '' Kyari said . `` But we still have five women , including a nursing mother , missing . '' News of the escape was slow to emerge due to trouble with telecommunication towers in the area damaged by previous Boko Haram attacks . Boko Haram has recently intensified abductions of women in northeastern Borno state , where its five-year insurgency is largely concentrated . When a group of women and girls abducted in November was later rescued from Boko Haram , some were pregnant . Others had been forcibly converted to Islam and married off to their kidnappers . # BringBackOurGirls . The April kidnapping galvanized international opinion against Boko Haram and inspired the hashtag # BringBackOurGirls . The terror group abducted an estimated 276 girls April 14 from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria . Dozens escaped , but more than 200 girls are still missing . Since then the insurgents , seemingly galvanized by the attention , have stepped up the frequency and brazenness of the attacks on villages in the region . Other girls have been kidnapped , but in lesser numbers . The Nigerian government has come under fire for not doing enough to find the girls . About a month ago the government tried to stop organized protests for the abducted girls , then backtracked and allowed the protests . Deadly battles rage on . Meanwhile , the group continues battling Nigeria 's military . Its ambitions have apparently expanded to the destruction of the Nigerian government . On Friday , at least six soldiers , five police officers and 53 Boko Haram fighters were killed after the militants launched an attack in the town of Bama , the Nigerian Defense Ministry said . Local residents said half the town was burnt , including the police station . Many of Boko Haram 's attacks take place in the northern part of the country , despite the fact that Nigeria 's northern half is mainly Muslim and the south is mainly Christian . But the radical militant group does not consider all Muslims as supporters and allies . Boko Haram has allegedly killed Muslim clerics who have dared to criticize the group . And there have been suggestions that it attacks certain mosques because members have spoken out against it and helped federal officials with their crackdown . Analysts say attacks are aimed at instilling fear in the local population to prevent cooperation with the government . Mohammed Yusuf , a charismatic young cleric , founded Boko Haram 12 years ago as part of his push for a pure Islamic state in Nigeria . He was killed in 2009 , but his group lived on . Boko Haram became more violent after his death as his supporters vowed to strike back . Human Rights Watch estimates that in the past five years , more than 3,000 people have been killed in the violence . Nigeria : Arrested women recruited for Boko Haram .
The women and girls escaped while militants left to launch an attack . Hundreds of girls abducted in April are still believed held hostage . Boko Haram has recently increased abductions of females . Boko Haram is trying to impose strict Sharia law across Nigeria .