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| - The latest abduction of 333 schoolchildren claimed by Boko Haram comes nearly three years after 111 schoolgirls were snatched by jihadists in northern Nigeria, and six after 276 girls were taken from Chibok in a raid that shocked the world. We look at the mass kidnappings which have become a hallmark of extremist Islamist groups in Nigeria, with many of the Chibok girls still missing. On April 14, 2014 Boko Haram gunmen seize 276 girls aged between 12 and 17 from the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town of Chibok in Borno state. The girls are forced from their dormitories onto trucks and driven into the bush. Fifty-seven manage to flee in a daring escape. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claims responsibility in a video and vows to sell the girls as slave brides. Boko Haram says they have converted to Islam and will not be released unless militant fighters held in custody are freed. An international outcry follows with a campaign demanding the girls' release backed by A-list celebrities and politicians, with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls going viral. In April 2016, on the eve of the abduction's second anniversary, a "proof of life" video emerges showing 15 of the girls in black hijabs. The following month, the Nigerian army confirms the first of the schoolgirls has been found. Aged 19, she has a four-month-old baby and is found with a man she describes as her husband near Boko Haram's Sambisa forest enclave. In October, 21 of the girls are freed following talks brokered by Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Local sources say four jihadist prisoners were freed in return. The army finds two other girls in November 2016 and January 2017. In May 2017 another 82 girls are released in exchange for five Boko Haram commanders. Later that month, Boko Haram release a video in which a woman in a black veil claiming to be one of the Chibok girls brandishes a gun and proclaims loyalty to the group. Another girl is rescued by the army in January 2018. In all, 107 of the 219 held since 2014 have either escaped or been released. Some of the young women are now studying at the American University of Nigeria in Yola, although others had to drop out of education because their poverty-striken families could not afford to pay for transport, food or even their sanitary towels. In February 2018, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an offshoot of Boko Haram, snatches 111 girls from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Dapchi, around 300 kilometres (186 miles) from Chibok. The jihadists returned more than 100 girls to the town on March 21 after talks with the government. Five of their schoolmates reportedly died in captivity. But the group refused to free Leah Sharibu, then 15, because she would not convert to Islam. The only Christian among the hostages, she still remains in captivity nearly three years on. Late on Friday more than 100 gunmen on motorcycles stormed the all-boys Government Science Secondary School in the town of Kankara, in Katsina state. A number of teenagers from the boarding school escaped, but many were captured, split into groups and taken away. The attack was intially blamed on armed criminals before Boko Haram -- which operates hundreds of miles away -- claimed responsibility Tuesday. The army said it had located the gunmen's enclave and that a military operation was under way to rescue the children. Some 333 boys are still missing. bur-br/fg/erc
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