We lost 22 soldiers, killed over 70 terrorists in fresh Borno clash – DHQ

The Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has confirmed the loss of 22 soldiers during a clearance operation in Borno State, which also resulted in the elimination of over 70 terrorists.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, noting that the operation targeted the Timbuktu Triangle, a notorious terrorist stronghold.

According to the statement, the clearance mission was part of ongoing efforts to dismantle Boko Haram and ISWAP enclaves in the region. Despite the casualties on the military’s side, Buba highlighted the success of neutralizing a significant number of insurgents, emphasizing the commitment of the armed forces to restoring peace in the North-East.

“Overall, during the course of the operations, troops sadly recorded 22 killed in action casualties with several others wounded in action,”

According to him, the three-prong operation was aimed at dismantling the terrorist presence with a triangle and began on 16 January 25 till date.

Buba, however, said the troops killed over 70 terrorists including some of their commanders during the operations.

“Troops recorded several encounters with terrorists during the course of the clearance operations which resulted in over 70 terrorists combatants including 3 notable terrorist commanders neutralized. The terrorist commanders neutralised include and are not limited to the following: TALHA (Terrorist Special Forces Commander), Mallam UMAR (Terrorist Operations commander), and ⁠ABU YAZEED (Terrorist Brigade Commander),” he said.

The DHQ said the success was despite the terrorists deploying Improvised Explosive Devices( IEDs), Person Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers) as well as Vehicle Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers in explosive vehicles) to ward off troops advance and attacks”.

“Troops already familiar with the terrorist tactics thwarted several terrorist attempts, including shooting down the amateur drones used by the terrorist,” the DHQ said.

In July, seven troops were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in a village where the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is active.

The 15-year-old conflict has killed 40,000 and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast.

The violence spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, leading to the creation of a regional force to fight the militants.