Troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) have neutralized 25 Boko Haram and Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the Lake Chad region.
The terrorists were killed, while they attempted to attack a fuel depot in Soudeye village of Borgogorou Community in Niger Republic.
Sources said the MNJTF Air Task Force comprising Nigeria and Niger fighter aircraft carried out multiple airstrikes on the insurgents.
The source said the accurate airstrikes led to the destruction of three gun trucks and their occupants.
He added that the task force stoutly repelled the terrorists, after an hour heavy gun fire that inflicted tremendous casualties on them.
Confirming the operation, a counter-insurgency and terrorism expert on Lake Chad, Zagazola Makama, said the MNJTF Air Task Force pushed back the terrorists, before a combined land and air offensive neutralized and destroyed the insurgents along with their gun trucks.
He said: “The MNJTF Air Task Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft trailed the fleeing remnants of the insurgents and destroyed two additional gun trucks,”
adding that “all the occupants were also killed in the coordinated operations”.
Read Also:
He continued, “We counted 26 bodies, they may be more; because some of the bodies were scattered all over the place.
“The terrorists came in three gun trucks and we killed all of them and destroyed the three trucks.”
He said the ISR patrol also sighted additional two gun trucks running away at night and destroyed them also.
“The ground and aerial troops did not suffer any fatalities or casualties in the coordinated operations,” he said.
Commending the troops, the MNJTF Commander, Major Gen Abdul Ibrahim charged the troops to ensure total elimination of the terrorists in the Lake Chad region.
He lamented that the remnants of insurgents are causing most of the problems in Nigeria and three neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
“We are motivated and ready to keep killing them until they surrender unconditionally,” he said, adding that there was a directive from the Service Chiefs to finish eliminate all the terrorists in the region” he said.
He further disclosed that the terrorists’ hideouts in the region, include Lumburam, Fiyoo, Lada and Jarwaram along River Kumadugu/Yobe in the border areas with Niger.
He pointed out that the hideouts, are used to coordinate and launch attacks on Geidam, Kannama and Buni/Yadi in Yobe state.
END
