…rescues 16 hostages
By OKOSUN DENNIS
It was a huge harvest over terrorist on Tuesday as the Nigerian military attached to 121 Task Force Battalion, 26 Task Force Brigade, accompanied by a large number of Civilian JTF from Gwoza, embarked on a very aggressive patrol that dislodged remnants Boko Haram terrorists hibernating at Ngoshe and Gava villages, located close to Gwoza on the mountainous terrain.
The assault was backed with the support from the Nigeria Air Force and Cameroonian Defence Forces who provided air cover and real time Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance, to clear the remnants of the terrorists hiding in the mountainous area and rescue all persons held hostages by the Boko Haram terrorists.
While advancing towards their objective in Ngoshe, it was learnt, the patrol team encountered Boko Haram terrorists. They have to clear the delay positions staged by the terrorists through the support of the Nigeria Air Force fighter jets.
Although the number of terrorists killed could not be ascertained, according to the Army spokesperson, Col Sani Kukasheka Usman, quite a number of them where seen falling over the mountains when engaged. It is equally believed several others escaped with gunshot wounds.
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In the process, the troops said to have recovered a number of arms and ammunitions which include one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube, four RPG Bombs, one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), one Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle and three AK-47 rifles.
Other items recovered include one Sub-Machine Gun(SMG), one Locally made Pistol, a locally made Double-Barrel gun, one Smoke Grenade, 243 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and one round of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition.
In addition, they also recovered 18 rounds of MI16 rifle, three G3 Rifle magazines, two AK-47 magazines, one mobile telephone handset and a SIM card, as well as a pair of military desert camouflage uniform. Other items were an address card, three Boko Haram terrorists flags and a Toyota Hilux vehicle painted in desert camouflage colour and motorcycles.
It was however learnt that no hostage was found in Gava. However, they rescued 16 civilians held in Ngoshe prison, while many residents of the town saw it as an opportunity to flee from the town. Both the rescued and freed persons are being profiled by the troops.