In the continuing clearance operation in Sambisa Forest, Troops from Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) in Nigeria and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) have killed 35 Boko Haram insurgents.
According to reports, between Monday and Thursday, the 199 Special Forces Battalion, under the command of Brig. Gen. Victor Unachukwu, and the 21 Armoured Brigade, Bama, started the special operations. One of the operations included clearing many enclaves in the forest.
Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency specialist and security analyst in the Lake Chad region, corroborated this by claiming that on April 19, the military assaulted and cleared Izzah and Farisu, where they fiercely battled dozens of the militants in a bloody fire battle.
After around 30 minutes of fighting, the military were able to defeat the terrorists, killing 18 of them while seizing several motorcycles, AK-47 rifles, and an anti-aircraft cannon.
According to a security source, the troops went on to Farisu where they killed eight more rebels.
In Alafa, three insurgents were killed, including one commander, simply identified as “Salafi” while two motorcycles were recovered.
“In addition, on April 20, In Ukuba, the ground troops made contact with another set of the insurgents, killing seven; while others escaped with bullet wounds. The troops recovered one truck and two 122 artillery guns.
“The troops moved further to clear Garin Glucose where they neutralised additional two insurgents while others hastily withdrew and avoided making contact with the approaching troops.
“At the end of the three days of special operations, the troops successfully cleared terrorists’ hideouts in Garno, Alafa, Alafa D, Garin Doctor, Njumia, Izzah, Farisu, Somalia, Ukuba, Garin Glucose, Garin Ba’aba and Bula Abu Amir communities in Bama LGA in Borno State.
“In the course of the operation, some women that were held captive by the insurgents were rescued,” the security source said.