Group of kidnapped Chinook girls freed

A group of 21 schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist terrorist Boko Haram in northern Nigeria in 2014 were reunited with their families Thursday. Nigeria's Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the release was "the first step" for the liberation of all the remaining girls. Of the 276 kidnapped, 197 are still missing. Those who escaped reported they were forcibly converted to Islam; some were enslaved as “wives” of Boko Haram terrorists. Nigerian authorities have denied reports that captured Boko Haram fighters were swapped for the girls or that millions of dollars were handed over as ransom.