About 100 Boko Haram/ Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, including 10 key commanders have been eliminated by troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad region.
Colonel Muhammad Dole, in a statement on Sunday, said the troops successfully hit the enclaves in well-coordinated land and air offensives.
“The offensives were conducted under Operation Lake Sanity, the joint operations involving the MNJTF troops from Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon and troops from Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK-Nigeria).
“The troops raided the insurgents’ dens in Zanari, Arina Woje, which served as major fabrication workshops and several other locations around the islands from different corridors in the last one week,” Dole said.
The spokesman added that equipment, like grinding machines, vehicle fabrication tools, and military uniforms were also destroyed and set ablaze in the location.
He said the operation also included the combined Air Task Forces of MNJTF and OPHK other security agencies and the Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF).
“Some of the commanders include Abubakar Dan Buduma, Abubakar Shuwa, Abu Ali and Abu Jubrilla, among others.
“Relatedly, sophisticated weapons of different calibres, including a 105 mm artillery piece, several canoes/boats, motorcycles, bicycles, several Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)-making factories and bunkers were destroyed.
“In the course of the operation, a significant number of innocent citizens, mostly women and children held captive by the criminals, were rescued.
“Large quantities of foodstuff (grains), fuel dumps, illicit drugs, terrorists’ uniforms and other household materials were recovered and destroyed immediately,” he said.
According to him, the terrorists were neutralised following intelligence-driven lethal airstrikes in the Lake Chad islands by the combined air task forces.
Dole said logistics and foodstuff, including several bags of maize and beans, motorcycles, some immobilised military and civil vehicles, were discovered at Fedondiya settlement in a clearance operation.
According to him, it was obviously a big Boko Haram / ISWAP camp, having another large IED-making and vehicle-borne IED-making factory that was cleverly camouflaged to prevent detection from the air.
Dole said the MNJTF troops on clearance patrols in Kimeguna near Lake Chad in Niger Republic accosted terrorist logisticians ferrying 457 bags of fish in several carts.
According to him, the obviously frustrated BHT/ISWAP criminals have resorted to the indiscriminate laying of IEDs and use of vehicle-borne explosive devices attacks, adding that the bags of fish were immediately destroyed in line with the MNJTF standing operating procedure and the suspects were currently being profiled.
He said the troops had encountered four of such attacks, saying that 18 soldiers, including an officer, had been wounded in the attacks.
Dole added that the wounded had been evacuated to various military medical facilities for treatment, while three soldiers and one member of the CJTF paid the supreme sacrifice.
The spokesman said, the Force Commander, MNJTF, Major-General Abdul-Khalifah Ibrahim, commended his deputy, sector commanders, officers and men of MNJTF and other operations, including the CJTF, for their courage and commitment.
He said Ibrahim paid tribute to the troops who paid the supreme sacrifice and prayed for quick recovery of the wounded heroes.
