Residents: Boko Haram readies for battle in NE Nigeria

Hajiya Adama said her mother said the fighters also have released young women being held against their will, including some made pregnant during their captivity.
She said her mother left last week and escaped to the town of Yola, in neighboring Adamawa state.
"She told me that Boko Haram terrorists asked them to leave suddenly, that they were preparing grounds for a major battle," Adama told The Associated Press. "She said while being helped by other women to leave through Madagali, they saw many Boko Haram terrorists in trucks and some on bikes moving toward Gwoza."
An intelligence officer said security forces are moving slowly for fear of harming civilians, and especially since Boko Haram is surrounding Gwoza with land mines.
He confirmed forces from Chad are in the area, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.
Boko Haram in August declared an Islamic caliphate across a swath of northeast Nigeria where it held sway. In recent weeks, Chadian and Nigerian troops have retaken a score of towns. But the militants continue to kill scores in suicide bombings and village attacks.