The Defence Headquarters has attributed the recent resurgence of terrorist attacks in the Northeast and Northwest to the alleged influx of foreign fighters providing reinforcement to local terror groups.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, made this disclosure while briefing newsmen on the operations of the armed forces on Thursday in Abuja.

Buba said, “The resurgence in terror attacks can be attributed to the influx of foreign fighters who come in as reinforcements for these terrorists. These foreign fighters are from the Sahelian Region.

“The other contributing factor is the local collaborators who form a support base for these terrorists. They serve as informants to the terrorists, reporting on troop movements. In spite of the situation, troops are profoundly conscious of their role and responsibility in ending insurgency and terrorism in the nation.”

Buba said that troops might record occasional tactical setbacks, but their strategic objective to break the terrorists’ will to fight remained unhindered.

According to him, defeating an enemy means destroying or breaking his will to fight, and the military is achieving this through the cumulative effort of killing their operatives, commanders, and senior leadership.

He said the troops had continued to take away the terrorists’ most important assets, such as their logistics, administrative, and fighting capabilities.

“And, of course, we are applying regional and international pressure, as well as engaging the media. All these combine to destroy the terrorists’ will to fight. Wars are fought and won all over the world by destroying the enemy’s will to fight. And we are bent on achieving just that.

“We understand that this war is not a quick fix, but a long and enduring military operation, at the end of which these terrorists will be destroyed, and we will have a better world. Overall, we understand that we all want to be in a different situation, a situation where all this insecurity is over, and the terrorists are completely eradicated,” he added