Nigerian Army has confirmed that it’s troops of 152 Task Force Battalion (TFB) in conjunction with the Air Component of Operation (ACOp) HADIN KAI neutralised 12 members of the marauding Boko Haram (BHT) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Borno State on Sunday.
It said the terrorists were attempting to infiltrate the Forward Operational Base at Bula Yobe in Borno State when a fierce fighting ensued .
The Nigerian troops in the process of defending the Forward Operational Base and repelling the attack loss two soldiers while five others were wounded.
This disclosure was contained in a statement in Abuja by the directior of army public relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu.
According to him, “the terrorists, who came mounted on gun trucks and several motorcycles attacked the location via an unsuspected crossing point, but were met with heavy volume of fire from the vigilant troops.”
He said that following this development,the Land troops, in their usual dexterity swiftly and decisively engaged the terrorists, subsequently forcing them to retreat, having lost initiative.
He pointed out that the Troops, however, sustained the fire fight and successfully neutralised 12 terrorists, with several others fleeing with gun shot wounds.
According to him, the troops gallantly captured one gun Truck, one self-propelled gun-9, one Dushika Gun and one mounted QJC Machine Gun while other items recovered from the fleeing bandits include one Light Machine Gun and five AK 47 Rifles.
He, however, lamented that during the encounter two soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice, while five others sustained varying degrees of injury and have been evacuated by the Air component of OPHK to a medical facility, where they were currently receiving medical attention.
He added that the general area within FOB Bula Yobe was cool, calm and under the control of troops of the battalion while further exploitation by the resilient troops was ongoing .
Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Faruk Yahaya, has lauded the Land troops and the Air Component for their synergy and quick response, which he said was in tandem with the ongoing rejigging of the counter-terrorism counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.
He charged the troops to maintain the tempo and aggressively hold their ground, to deny the terrorists freedom of action in the troubled zone.