Troops of 3 Battalion, Nigerian Army fighting to flush out remnants of Boko Haram, have rescued 998 hostages held captive by the terrorists in a fighting battle that resulted in fatal casualties on the part of Boko Haram.
Nine terrorists were killed, several others ran into the bush with gunshot wounds and no Nigerian soldier was killed in the battle that was said to have lasted several hours as they were adequately prepared, with enough back up for the operation.
Those rescued were 125 at Ndufu, 802 at Muktu and 71 persons at Muzuri.
A statement signed by Brigadier General Sani Usman, Director, Army Public Relations said, “Interestingly, despite the heat of the battle, the troops also vaccinated all children under the age of 5 with Polio vaccinations.
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The statement reads, “Following confirmed information about the presence of remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in some villages around Ngala, troops of 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade Nigerian Army, on Friday 19th May 2017, along with some Civilian JTF embarked on Fighting Patrol to the area.
“The patrol team had a fierce encounter with the terrorists at Ndufu which they decisively dealt with before proceeding to clear Muktu and Muzuri, as welll as nearby communities within the area.
“Although some of terrorists fled to various directions on sighting the troops, the patrol team was able to neutralize 9 terrorists, destroyed their Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making factory and rescued 998 persons.
“In addition, the troops recovered 1 AK-47 Rifle with registration number 565231515, an AK-47 Rifle Magazine, 2 Boko Haram terrorists flags, 4 Motorcycles, 2 Solar Panels, 2 already prepared IEDs, Detonating cords and other explosive making components.
“It is gratifying to note that 3 Battalion has maintained its status as one of the best fighting unit in the theatre as they did not sustain any casualty or injury during the operation.”
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