The Defence Headquarters has revealed that, during air interdiction missions carried out on the Niger and Zamfara states border, over 100 terrorists were eliminated.
Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, provided this information during an update on recent military operations across the country. He showcased images of the Nigerian Air Force’s air interdictions and explained that these operations significantly reduced the number of insurgents in various parts of the country.
Buba noted that during a targeted surgical operation aimed at the residence of an ISWAP terrorist commander in Niger, multiple arrests were made, and valuable discoveries were uncovered.
Furthermore, he reported that troops engaged in various operations last week neutralized 73 terrorists and apprehended 182 others. Additionally, 14 suspected oil thieves were arrested, and 68 hostages were rescued in the South-South region. These operations thwarted an estimated N1.212 billion in illegal oil trade.
“Furthermore, troops recovered 119 assorted weapons and 1,537 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: one GPMG, three PKT guns, 39 AK-47 rifles, five locally fabricated rifles, one locally made double-barrel gun, one Bereta pistol, four locally made pistols, five RPG bombs, and five pump-action guns.
“Also recovered were one short gun, one hand grenade, two Dane guns, one AK-47 rifle loaded with 14 rounds of 7.62mm special, and one locally made pistol loaded with live cartridges.
“Others are 586 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, a bag containing 287 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 389 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammo, 141 rounds of 7.62mm special (belted) ammo and 12 rounds of 9mm ammo.
“Also recovered are 113 rounds of live cartridges, 25 empty magazines, 13 vehicles, three motorcycles, 10 mobile phones, two HH radios, one Boafeng radio, and the sum of N3.3 million, among other items,” he said.
In the North East, Buba said the troops of Operation Hadin Kai neutralised 39 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, arrested 22, rescued 18 hostages, and recovered a large cache of arms.
In the North Central, the troops of Operations Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke neutralised 12 terrorists, arrested 109, rescued 22 kidnapped hostages and recovered several arms and ammunition, he added.
