Troops uncover ISWAP underground armoury in Sambisa forest

Troops from 21 Armoured Brigade, Bama, under Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), have uncovered an underground armoury belonging to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Sambisa Forest, Borno State. A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered.

The discovery was made when the troops invaded Ukuba camp on the fringes of Bama Local Council. A counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed, yesterday, in Maiduguri that the May 13, 2023, recovery of arms and ammunition was part of ongoing counter-insurgency operations, tagged: Desert Sanity II.

He said the troops, in the last two weeks, also raided the same camp, recovering six anti-aircraft guns, four AK-47 rifles and materials for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

He said other weapons recovered included a cache of magazines and a Hilux vehicle mounted with an anti-aircraft gun. According to him, the cache was uncovered in pits carefully concealed by the terrorists.

A military source in Maiduguri said several variants of Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tubes, SMG rifles, double barrel guns, 50 hand grenades and five SMK bombs were also recovered from the armoury.

According to the source, “we also recovered other weapons, comprising 183 Shukla rounds, several IED making materials, non-electric detonators, many prepared IEDs, as well as several canister bombs.”

The source added that as the troops were withdrawing from the area, a terrorist was sighted and killed, while an AK-47 rifle and other items were recovered from him.

“Our troops successfully evacuated the arms from the forest, after clearing the general area,” the source said, noting that troops’ moral and fighting spirit were boosted with the clearance operation.

The troops cleared about a dozen hideouts, including Garno, Alafa, Alafa D, Garin Doctor, Njumia, Izzah, Farisu and Somalia. He said other cleared camps comprised: Ukuba, Garin Glucose, Garin Ba’aba and Buba Abu Amir.