In brief: Nigeria rescues 178 from Boko Haram, destroys camps

LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigerian troops rescued 178 people from Boko Haram in attacks that destroyed several camps of the Islamic extremists in the northeast of the country, an army statement said Sunday.

Spokesman Col. Tukur Gusau said 101 of those freed are children, along with 67 women and 10 men.

The Nigerian air force reported killing “a large number” of militants in repelling an attack on Bitta village, 30 miles southwest of the army operations that took place around Bama, 45 miles southeast of Maiduguri city. Sunday’s statements did not specify when the attacks occurred.

Hundreds have been freed from Boko Haram captivity this year but none of the 219 girls abducted in April 2014 from a school in Chibok were among the rescued.

Israel targets new rules at extremists

JERUSALEM – Israel’s security Cabinet approved new measures Sunday against Israelis who attack Palestinians, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government will have “zero tolerance” for Jewish extremists.

The tough talk follows a pair of attacks last week that shocked Israelis. On Friday, suspected Jewish extremists set fire to a Palestinian home in the West Bank and burned a toddler to death. On Thursday, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed revelers at a gay pride parade in Jerusalem, and a 16-year-old girl wounded in that attack died of her wounds Sunday.

Canadian premier triggers campaign

TORONTO – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper triggered an election campaign Sunday and set the vote for Oct. 19, when Harper and his Conservative Party hope to earn a fourth term after almost a decade in power.

The prime minister dissolved Parliament Sunday in a visit to the governor-general, the ceremonial representative of Queen Elizabeth II, Canada’s head of state.

Burundi general assassinated

BUJUMBURA, Burundi – A Burundi general who was a key security ally of President Pierre Nkurunziza was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Bujumbura, a presidential spokesman said.

Gen. Adolphe Nshimirimana, the president’s senior adviser on security matters, was killed when men in a car shot at him and his bodyguards in the Kamenge neighborhood, Willy Nyamitwe told the Associated Press Sunday.

The attackers also lobbed a grenade into Nshimirimana’s vehicle, he said. The general was taken from the car and later died from his wounds, said Nyamitwe.

The killing is likely to stoke tensions in Burundi, which has been wracked by violence since April when Nkurunziza sought a third term in office.