According to the press statement by the Nigerian Army signed by Colonel Sagir Musa who is the Acting Director Army Public Relations , Troops of Sector 1 Operation LAFIA DOLE, in a joint clearance operations with Cameroonian Defence Forces, on the 13th of April 2019 had a fierce encounter with Boko Haram terrorists at the Northern part of Wulgo, Tumbuma, Chikun Gudu and Bukar Maryam villages.
Musa said, during the operations, 27 terrorists were sent to permanent discomforting sleep. The following items were recovered:
Musa said, during the operations, 27 terrorists were sent to permanent discomforting sleep. The following items were recovered:
PRESS RELEASE
NIGERIAN ARMY SUSTAINS VICTORY AGAINST BOKO HARAM TERRORISTS, Kills 27, Recovers Arms & Ammunitionm.facebook.com/story.php?stor…
a. 5 x Gun Trucks
b. Several Motor Cycles
c. 5 x AK 47 Rifles
d. 1 x Automatic Revolver Galil Rifle
e. 1 x G3 Rifle
f. 2 x General Purpose Machine Gun
g. 2 x Anti Aircraft Guns
h. 4 x Rocket Propelled Gun Tubes
i. 1 x PK Machine Gun
j. 1 x M21 Rifle
k. 1 x Locally Made Dane Gun
l. 5 x Rocket Propelled Gun Tubes Bombs
m. 1000 x Assorted rounds of different calibre ammunition
n. 5 x AK 47 Magazines
o. Several Links of 12.7 MM
p. 1 x Land Cruiser Buffalo
q. 1 x Nissan GT
r. 1 x Land Cruiser destroyed
s. 1 x flag and a Grinding Machine
Col. Musa further affirmed that a “coordinated military operation is ongoing especially in the fringes of Gombaru – Ngala and surrounding areas” dealing with militants fleeing the Multi-National Joint Task Force’s ongoing Operation Yancin Tafki.
It is unclear which faction of Boko Haram was targeted in Saturday’s action. Both have operated in the wider area in recent months, although the wider Lake Chad area is a stronghold of Islamic State West Africa province.
The Multinational Joint Task Force, which comprises troops from Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, launched Operation Yancin Tafki on February 21. MNJTF spokesperson Colonel Timothy Antigha has said it is aimed at “making islands and other settlements in Lake Chad untenable for Boko Haram Terrorists.”
On Sunday, ISIS in a statement claimed ISWA fighters on Saturday responded to an attack by the Nigerian army in the “Tombum” area of Borno. ISIS said Musa al-Ansari carried out a suicide car bomb attack, and that 23 soldiers were killed and others injured.
An earlier ISIS statement claimed ISWA fighters on Saturday killed three at a checkpoint manned by soldiers from Niger and a militia in Sabon Gari in northern Borno state. It said two vehicles, weapons and ammunition were captured.
ISIS on Saturday claimed a “tank” from the “African crusader alliance,” a term it uses for the regional MNJTF, was destroyed by an IED near Toumour in Niger on Friday.
Defense post reports that the jihadist group known as Boko Haram split into two factions in mid-2016. One led by long-time leader Shekau is notorious for suicide bombings and indiscriminate killings of civilians. Shekau pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in March 2015, but ISIS central only gives formal backing to the other faction, which it calls Islamic State West Africa province.
The ISWA faction, which largely focuses on attacking military and government targets, was led by Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, but last month, audio recordings revealed that ISIS appointed Abu Abdullah Idris bin Umar, also known as Ibn Umar al-Barnawi, as leader. ISIS has not yet made a public statement confirming the change.
Boko Haram’s bloody insurgency began in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 but has since spread into neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military response.
More than 27,000 innocent civilians have been killed while more two million others displaced as dire humanitarian crisis escalates in the region.
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