Crime

Army kill 20 Boko Haram insurgents, wound 17

Published

9 years ago

December 21, 2017

The Nigerian Army said on Wednesday that soldiers of the Armed Forces Strike Group have killed 20 Boko Haram terrorists in continuation of “Operation Deep Punch 2,” designed to smoke out Boko Haram terrorists inhabiting remote islands in Lake Chad basin lying within Nigerian territory.

According to the Deputy Director Public Relations, 8 Division, Colonel Timothy Antigha, said on the Nigerian Army Facebook wall that the operation which commenced about two weeks ago was proceeded by coordinated air and artillery bombardment of islands and localities occupied by terrorists.

He said that they had sneaked into Magumeri, Kauram and other locations to loot property and attack security personnel and villagers.

Col. Antigha pointed out that “20 terrorists have been killed, captured 17 others, while over 100 elderly men, women and children have been rescued.

He further explained that “Preliminary investigation has revealed that a large number of the rescued persons were held against their will and forced to work in farms under life threatening conditions and penurious wages.

“The operation which is on–going has yielded handsome results as terrorists abandoned vehicles, arms and ammunition, as well as assorted equipment when troops swooped on them.

“The troops also recovered one Mercedes Benz Truck, three Toyota Land Cruiser gun trucks, five AK-47 rifles, three Fabrique Nationals (FN) rifles, two G3 rifles and one Pump Action rifle.

“Other items include one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube, two bombs, two Very High Frequency (VHF) Radios and one Night Vision Goggle.

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“The troops also recovered 55 Rounds of 5.56 X 45mm ammunition, five Bangalore Torpedo, Two 120mm Mortar Bombs, 1000 Rounds of 7.62mm Ball Metal Link Ammunition, 55 Rounds of 7.62mm Ammunition and 108 Rounds of 12.7mm Ammunition with links, as well as two memory cards, two Hydraulic Jacks and a 1.5 Amph Battery.

Col. Antigha added that as soon as additional investigations and interviews are conducted before the rescued persons are handed over for further action.

During the encounter, no soldier died except about six soldiers sustained various degrees of injuries and have since been evacuated for prompt medical attention.