Troops of Sector 2 of the Northeast Joint Task Force under Operation Hadin Kai have killed 24 Boko Haram fighters in Kukareta community, Damaturu Local Council of Yobe State.

The insurgents were killed during a failed attack on the community in the early hours of yesterday.

The Media Information Officer of Operation Hadin Kai, Lt Col Sani Uba, said troops in the border community with Borno State repelled a coordinated assault on Kukareta village along the Damaturu–Maiduguri road.

Uba said: “The dawn attack, which commenced shortly after midnight and lasted until about 3:00 a.m., was met with a swift and coordinated response by the vigilant troops, who executed what he described as a deliberate offensive-defensive action that effectively contained the assault and forced the terrorists into a disorderly withdrawal from the community.

“During the engagement, troops inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers and killed 24 terrorists.

“Ongoing exploitation of the battlefield has also led to the recovery of a significant cache of arms and ammunition, including 18 AK-47 rifles, three General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), two PKT automatic anti-aircraft guns, three RPG tubes, two mortar tubes, four hand grenades, 18 AK-47 magazines, and large quantities of belted 7.62mm ammunition for PKT systems.”

He said two soldiers were injured and have been stabilised, while a reinforcing armoured tank sustained damage, with all tyres blown out during the engagement.

Uba added that exploitation operations are ongoing to recover additional bodies and equipment along the terrorists’ withdrawal routes, which showed blood trails and medical consumables.

“This successful operations highlights the resilience, combat readiness and fire superiority of OPHK troops in denying terrorists the freedom of action,” he said.