Troops kill 53 terrorists, recover 16 bodies of soldiers

Anti-terrorism group lauds military on defeat of insurgents

The Nigerian Army has recovered the bodies of one officer and 15 soldiers declared “Missing in Action” during an operation to dislodge the Boko Haram insurgents from Gashigar Area in Borno on October 16, 2016.

Also, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in the north east have killed 53 Boko Haram terrorists, arresting 963 others in various clearance operations along the Buni/Yadi and Katarko/Gujba axis and Lake Chad fringes.

The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Lucky Irabor, disclosed this at the weekly review of Operation Rescue Final at Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, yesterday.

“The bodies were recovered along Kamadugou River line area in Maiduguri. Among those recovered was that of Lt.-Col. K. Yusuf, the former Commanding Officer (CO) of 223 Tank Battalion. They have since been buried in Maimalari Cantonment Cemetery with full military honours,” Irabor said.

He said that out of the arrested suspects, two were medical doctor and major transporter of Boko Haram logistics from the neighbouring countries of Chad and Niger Republic.

“Out of the items and written records recovered from Sambisa Forest were on how to use armaments and making of bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs),” said Irabor on how the terrorists had been using the recovered items to attack communities.

On the fate of arrested suspects, he said that they were in military custody, undergoing interrogation and profiling.

Speaking on Nigerian Air Force (NAF) support for ground troops, Irabor said that after a successful aerial operation at Dogon Chiku, fighter jets conducted total of 68 sorties in 43 missions in Sambisa Forest and northern Borno.

Irabor appealed to the people to report any suspicious movements to the military and other security agencies for prompt action.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism group, the North East Coalition Against Terrorism (NECAT) has commended the Nigerian Army over its recent feat against Boko Haram.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, NECAT National Co-ordinator, Yusuf Msheliza said though the terrorists, in their flight were carrying out surprise attacks, Nigerians are however, aware that the army has won the war.