(CNN) -- Nigerian officials Friday said they have reached a ceasefire deal with Boko Haram militants that includes the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, Agence France-Presse reported.
The deal between the government and the Islamist terror group was confirmed by senior counterterrorism official Mike Omeri, Nigerian state broadcaster NTA said Friday.
A ceasefire agreement has been concluded "between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram)," Chief of Defense Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh said, according to AFP.
READ: What is Boko Haram? (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/04/17/world/africa/boko-haram-explainer/index.html')
Hassan Tukur, President Goodluck Jonathan's principal secretary, told AFP that the agreement includes an end to hostilities along with the release of 219 girls held captive since April.
(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/141012015143-pkg-kinkade-cameroon-hostages-freed-00005416-story-body.jpg)Boko Haram hostages freed in Cameroon (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140903225610-ctn-pkg-casarez-muslim-extremist-groups-00010702-story-body.jpg)ISIS and religious justification (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140806205818-erin-dnt-burnett-boko-haram-kidnapped-girls-00023113-story-body.jpg)Have missing Nigerian girls been spotted? CNN could not independently confirm the report.
The terrorist group abducted an estimated 276 girls in April from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. Dozens escaped, but more than 200 are still missing.
A source involved in the talks told CNN last month that Nigerian government officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross had discussions with Boko Haram about swapping imprisoned members of the group for the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls. It's unclear, however, whether the deal includes a prisoner swap.
READ: Where are the missing girls? (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/06/10/world/africa/boko-haram-hunt-arwa-damon/index.html')
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.
In recent years, its attacks have intensified in an apparent show of defiance amid the nation's military onslaught. Its ambitions appear to have expanded to the destruction of the Nigerian government.
The militant group has bombed schools, churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders alike.
The group has said its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.
Boko Haram was founded 12 years ago by Mohammed Yusuf, a charismatic cleric who called for a pure Islamic state in Nigeria. Police killed him in 2009 in an incident captured on video and posted to the Internet.
Source: CNN