In this task, you are given news articles and you need to generate a highlight, i.e., a short summary, with a maximum length of 10 lines.

Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- More than 70 members of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram have been killed during a Nigerian military operation in the northeastern state of Borno, an Army spokesman told CNN on Friday. The military "remains on the offensive," according to Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, who said the operation started Thursday and continued into the next day. Who are the world's 10 most dangerous terrorists? This wasn't the only clash between Boko Haram and Nigerian troops of late. Suspected members of the extremist group around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (12:30 p.m. ET) attacked a military checkpoint in Damaturu, Nigeria's Joint Task Force reported in a statement. Also in northern Nigeria, Damaturu is the capital of Yobe state. Special operations troops responded, waging "a fierce encounter with the terrorists in various parts of Damaturu ... for several hours," according to the Joint Task Force. By the time that fighting was over, 21 suspected Boko Haram fighters were dead, the government group reported. Three vehicles were recovered, as were assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade, improvised explosive devices and 709 rounds of ammunition. The military did not provide any information on its casualties. "Law abiding citizens are enjoined to remain calm as the 3 Division Special Operation Battalion is on top of the situation," the Joint Task Force said, noting a 24-hour curfew was imposed throughout the state. "Any credible information should be passed promptly to security agencies for necessary action." Last May, President Goodluck Jonathan put three states in the region under a state of emergency, giving Nigerian forces wide latitude in fighting the group, which human rights organizations say has killed more than 3,000 people since 2009. Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa-Fulani language, seeks to impose a strict version of Sharia law across northeastern Nigeria, if not the entire country. The group has attacked various targets in the West African nation since its formation in the late 1990s, according to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, including killing and kidnapping Westerners, and bombing schools and churches. Hundreds of its members, including its leader Mohammed Yusuf, died in July 2009 clashes with government forces. But the group did not stay down for long, and has remained an active and violent force in Nigeria. In August, its militants allegedly went into a mosque in Borno state and killed 44 worshipers. The group released a video boasting that it was growing stronger. Opinion: Should U.S. fear Boko Haram? CNN's Vlad Duthiers reported from Nigeria, CNN's Greg Botelho wrote this story from Atlanta. CNN's Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report.
The military kills more than 70 Boko Haram members in an operation in Borno state .
They also fend off an attack on a military checkpoint in Yobe state's capital .
21 suspected Boko Haram members die in fighting there .
Boko Haram seeks to impose a strict version of Sharia law across northeastern Nigeria .

The gunman who held hostages for more than 16 hours in a Sydney cafe was no stranger to police -- and was on bail for violent criminal offenses at the time of the siege. Man Haron Monis, an Iranian-born refugee who was granted political asylum in Australia in 2001, had "a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters. "It's pretty obvious that the perpetrator was a deeply disturbed individual," he said at a press conference Tuesday, adding that the 50-year-old was "well known" to federal and state police, as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organization. "But I don't believe he was on a terror watch list at this time." New South Wales Premier Mike Baird said authorities were investigating why Monis -- who was killed in the siege -- was at large, given his criminal background. "We're all outraged that this guy was on the street," he told reporters. "We need to understand why he was. We also need to understand why he wasn't picked up." What we know, what we don't know . Accessory to murder, sex charges . The self-styled Muslim cleric, also known as Sheikh Haron, was facing dozens of charges at the time of the siege, including two counts of being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, according to the Attorney General of New South Wales. Noleen Hayson Pal was found dead with multiple stab wounds in a stairwell, and her body had been set on fire, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. "They should have put him away and thrown away the key," the dead woman's godfather, Ayyut Khalik, told NBC News. He said Monis used to beat Pal, forcing her to wear a hijab all the time and forbidding her from talking to "outsiders." Court documents show Monis was also facing 45 sex-related charges, including sexual intercourse without consent and aggravated indecent assault. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the initial charges, laid in May 2014, related to an alleged sexual assault on a woman in western Sydney in 2002, before other sex-related charges were added regarding six additional victims. Monis was using the name Mohammad Hassan Manteghi -- his birth name, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA -- and claimed to be a "healer," according to the report. Monis also pleaded guilty last year to writing offensive "poison pen" letters to the families of Australian soldiers who died in Afghanistan, and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service. The letters were "sadistic, wantonly cruel and deeply wounding," one High Court judge said at the time, according to CNN affiliate Seven News. But the criminal accusations against him began even before he came to Australia. Monis fled his homeland in 1995 while being sought for allegedly committing fraud, Iran's semi-official Fars News reported. A spokesperson at Iran's embassy in Canberra told CNN that Tehran had officially requested Monis's extradition but nothing had come of it. Monis had been granted political asylum in 2001 and had had no further contact with his birth country, the spokesperson said. Who were the victims? An extremist theology . Manny Conditsis, a lawyer who acted for Monis in relation to the accessory to murder and letter-writing charges, told CNN his former client had been a cleric in Shiite Iran, but had become critical of the Islamic Republic's government in the late 1990s, and fled to Australia "because he was going to be killed." He had left behind a wife and two children, who he believed Monis had not seen since. Throughout the 2000s, said Conditsis, Monis "became sympathetic to what he perceived ... was the victimization of Muslims and Islamists around the world, and partly at least took up that cause." His broader cause, he said, was lobbying governments around the world, particularly Australia, not to wage wars on Muslim soil. "He was so blinded by that objective that it would seem he had lost sight of objectivity and rationality and acted in extreme ways," he said, describing his former client as "intensely conflicted and contradicted and inconsistent." While older footage of Monis preaching shows him dressed in typical Shiite cleric's attire, in his social media posts, he appears to embrace a radical Sunni extremist theology. He used the Internet to spread extremist beliefs, garnering nearly 13,000 likes on his Facebook page. During the siege, Abbott said, the hostage-taker "sought to cloak his actions with the symbolism of the (ISIS) death cult," Abbott said. On his website, which has now been taken down, there was a pledge of allegiance to the so-called Islamic State terror group. The site describes Monis as a Muslim cleric and activist based in Sydney who has "continuously been under attack & false accusation by the Australian government & media since he started his political letter campaign from 2007." There's a graphic photo of slain children at the top of the site. Under the image, it reads, "This is an evidence for the terrorism of America and its allies including Australia. The result of their airstrikes." A description on the site portrayed Monis as a victim of a political vendetta and compares him to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who has claimed the sex crime allegations he faces are politically motivated. A YouTube video posted in November shows Monis standing on a street corner, chains draped over him, carrying a sign that says, "I have been tortured in prison for my political letters." Police have refused to comment on that accusation. His last tweet linked to his website, with a haunting message posted the day of his attack on the Sydney cafe: "If we stay silent towards the criminals we cannot have a peaceful society. The more you fight with crime, the more peaceful you are." Conditsis  told Australian public broadcaster ABC that Monis was an isolated figure who was probably acting alone. Crisis in a cafe . Monday's hostage situation began around 10 a.m. Hundreds of police officers, including snipers, took position around the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydney's central business district. Australian media captured haunting images of hostages pressing their hands against the cafe's windows. They were reportedly taking turns holding a black flag with Arabic writing on it that said, "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God." The man holding the hostages demanded to speak to Abbott. Police were monitoring social media because hostages appeared to be posting information about the man's demands. Hours into the crisis, at least five hostages managed to escape, running terrified toward police in riot gear. That made the hostage-taker furious, reported Chris Reason, a correspondent for CNN affiliate Seven Network. Reason said he could see the gunman become "extremely agitated" when he realized what had happened, and he "started screaming orders" at the remaining hostages. Gunfire erupted early Tuesday as police stormed the cafe where the gunman had been holding hostages. Two hostages were killed during the standoff. Police later announced that the siege was over and that the lone gunman had been killed.
Man Haron Monis had history of "infatuation with extremism and mental instability," Abbott says .
Hostage-taker was granted political asylum in Australia in 2001; was on bail for violent offending .
His former lawyer says he campaigned against "the victimization of Muslims and Islamists"
On Monis' apparent website, there is a pledge of allegiance to ISIS .

(CNN) -- London's Metropolitan Police have praised the good behavior of Scotland fans during Sunday's match against Brazil, despite claims by Brazilian striker Neymar that a banana was thrown at him as a form of racist abuse. Santos striker Neymar, 19, scored both goals in Brazil's 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium, the home of English Premier League side Arsenal. But the Brazilian attacker later revealed that he was subjected to racist taunts from Scottish spectators, which culminated in the banana-throwing incident. However, the police confirmed they had received no complaints about any form of racism being displayed during the match on Monday. Will Neymar win 2014 World Cup for Brazil? Match commander, Chief Inspector Mark Shearan, issued an official press release which read: "The Scottish supporters who travelled down to the game in their numbers were friendly and good-natured, colourful and supportive of their team. "There were six arrests at the match -- of which only two were definitely Scottish supporters and were drink-related. This figure must be the seen in the context of a 53,000 strong crowd." After his two-goal winning performance, Neymar had earlier claimed to Brazilian media that he had been the subject of racist abuse: "This atmosphere of racism is totally sad. "They were jeering me a lot, even when I was about to kick the penalty the entire stadium was jeering. "We leave our country to play here and something like this happens. It's sad. I would rather not even talk about it, to keep the subject from escalating." Neymar's teammate Lucas Leiva, who plays in England for Liverpool and removed the banana from the pitch, added: "There is no more space for racism in the world. "Europe is where it happens the most. That has to change, everybody is equal today and it's a matter of respect." The Scottish Football Association (SFA), in a statement on their official website, denied the claims from Neymar. "There was no evidence of such instances but the Scotland supporters have confirmed they booed the player for perceived unsporting behaviour during the match. "The tens of thousands of Scotland fans who travelled to London were, in fact, commended for creating a carnival atmosphere not just inside the stadium but across the city throughout the weekend. "The Scottish FA has contacted the Brazilian Football Federation and the match organisers, Kentaro, to inform them of our information and of our supporters' unhappiness at the unfounded accusations," the statement read.

London Police praise behavior of Scotland fans during the match against Brazil .
Police reveal they have received no racism complaints from Sunday's game .
Two-goal striker Neymar told media that a banana was thrown at him during game .