Troops of the Operation FIRE BALL of the Nigerian Armed Forces deployed to North-East of the country, have eliminated nine members of Boko Haram/ Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist groups.
The gallant men of the FIRE BALL, which is under the Operation LAFIYA DOLE, recorded the feat during an encounters with the dreaded terrorists in recent days.
A statement shared on the Defence Headquarters’ social media pages (Facebook and Twitter) on Saturday and signed by Brig. Gen. Benard Onyeuko, Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, said the troops carried out the special operations between 7 to 8 December and also recovered several weapons.
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Part of the statement read: “On 8 December 2020, following credible intelligence on movement of Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province logistics from across the border towns to Sambisa Axis, troops of Special Response Area Pulka successfully sprang a well coordinated ambush along Pulka- Firgi- Banki Junction road against the criminals. During the brief but decisive encounter, 4 Boko Haram/ISWAP criminals were neutralized while 2 bicycles, 2 pushcarts, several bags of dry catfish, grains and large quantity of other food items were captured.
“Same day, on 8 December 2020, troops of 151 Battalion had a similar encounter with some marauding Boko Haram criminals along Firgi- Pulka road leading to the neutralization of 3 of the insurgents while others fled with varying degrees of injuries.
“Earlier, on 7 December 2020, troops of 112 Task Force Battalion deployed in Mafa in conjunction with elements of Borno State Civilian Joint Task Force conducted a robust fighting patrol to a suspected Boko Haram criminals harbour area in Mogoniri village.
“The highly motivated troops made contact and immediately engaged the criminals with high volume of fire forcing the terrorists to scamper and fled in disarray. In the aftermath of the encounter, one Boko Haram criminal was neutralized while one AK 47 Rifle and 9 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition were captured from the fleeing criminals.
“In another development, on 7 December 2020, troops of 21 Special Armoured Brigade conducted an aggressive fighting patrol to the general area of Gonori vilage towards the fringes of Sambisa Forest. Expectedly, troops made contact and engaged the criminals. In the ensuing gun battle, one Boko Haram criminal was neutralized while several others are believed to have escaped with gunshot wounds. Items captured during the encounter include; one AK 47 Rifle, one empty magazine and one tecno phone.
“The troops of Operation FIRE BALL under Operation LAFIYA DOLE are commended for their continued dedication and determination in flushing out remnants of the terrorists from their hideouts.They are also encouraged not to relent but build on the successes recorded so far.
“The entire populace of the North East region are hereby assured of the Nigerian military high command determination to finally rout the remnants of Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province criminals from their enclaves in this zone. They are also encouraged to avail the troops with credible information that will help in the execution of the operation.”
