163 Terrorists Killed In 3 Weeks – DHQ

About 163 terrorists have been killed in three regions of the country in the last three weeks.

The break down, as revealed by the Director, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami showed that 103 members of the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa State Province (ISWAP), were killed in North East, while in the North west and North Central, 60 were eliminated.

Danmadami added that troops also arrested 40 terrorists including four commanders and rescued 30 kidnapped victims.

He said within the period under review, soldiers on internal security operations in the South South part of the country destroyed 57 illegal refineries, 953 cooking ovens, 68 wooden boats, 172 storage tanks and 149 dugout pits.

According to him, the armed forces, in the last three weeks, eliminated more than 60 terrorists and bandits in the North West and North Central.

He said the troops, who arrested more than 50 terrorists and their collaborators, also rescued 27 kidnap victims in various operations within the period.

He said the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in the North West had sustained operational activities through fighting patrols, raids and clearance operations in bandits’ enclaves within Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kaduna states.

He said the troops on December 3, neutralised five terrorists while others fled during fighting patrols at Ungwan Babale and Rafin Sarki in Giwa LGA of Kaduna State.

The defence spokesman said the troops also apprehended a suspected gun runner, who had been on their wanted list, at a filling station while refuelling his car in Jema’a area of the state.

He added that five AK47 rifles, 4,000 rounds of 7.6mm special ammo concealed in a sack, four magazines, teargas canisters and knives were recovered from him.

Danmadami said a military board was already investigating the killing of civilians last Sunday when the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jets bombed terrorists at Mutumji community in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

He said the airstrikes were targeted solely at terrorists who invaded the area in their hundreds on motorcycles.

More than 60 villagers died in the operation.

Danmadami said the figure of soldiers killed during the operations was over-exaggerated in the media.

Even the number of civilians killed had not been officially communicated to the military by the Zamfara State government, he told journalists, adding that the investigation would ascertain the collateral damage and equally the number of people that were involved.

“So, for now, we cannot give you any specific number as to the level of collateral damage that happened during that incident so as not to jeopardise the investigation that is ongoing.

“The air bombardment was a precision bombardment and a lot of terrorists were equally neutralised during the operations.”