Troops of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) have engaged and defeated terrorists in coordinated dawn operations across parts of the North-East, maintaining firm control of key locations, the Nigerian Army has said.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the army said troops of Sector 1 OPHK carried out a successful night-dawn surprise operation at Bula Dalo on Jan. 28, neutralising more than 12 terrorists.
The statement said the operation forced the remaining terrorists to flee in disarray, leading to the recovery of four AK-47 rifles, one PKT anti-aircraft gun, one rocket-propelled grenade launcher and one multiple grenade launcher.
It added that in a separate, deliberate operation at the Garno terrorist camp, troops of Sector 1 further degraded terrorist capabilities by neutralising six terrorists, destroying their life-support structures and recovering a large cache of PKT anti-aircraft ammunition.
In a related development, the army said troops of Sector 2 OPHK at Sabon Gari came under attack by ISWAP terrorists, supported by multiple armed drones, in the early hours of Jan. 29.
According to the statement, the terrorists briefly breached part of the defensive position, but troops swiftly repelled the assault and restored full control of the location with timely reinforcement from nearby units.
The army, however, said some troops and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force lost their lives during the defence of the location, while an excavator and a lowbed were damaged by the armed drone attack.
It added that exploitation of the area was ongoing as troops sustained operations to deny terrorists freedom of action.
The statement was signed by Lt.-Col. Sani Uba, Media Information Officer, Headquarters Joint Task Force North-East, Operation HADIN KAI.
