The Nigerian Army has announced the killing of several terrorists, recovery of weapons and the interception of a suspected explosives courier transporting 180 units of 20mm Super Power explosives to suspected terrorist elements in the North West.
The operations were carried out by troops of the Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle terrorist networks, disrupt their logistics and deny them freedom of movement across the region.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force North West, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday.
According to Danja, troops of Sector 2 encountered terrorists on Friday, August 14, during an offensive clearance operation around Garin Kaso in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
He said the troops engaged the terrorists in a fierce firefight, resulting in the death of two terrorists.
During the encounter, the troops recovered two rifles, two magazines, nine rounds of ammunition and two motorcycles from the terrorists.
Danja explained that another group of terrorists subsequently attempted to ambush the troops from concealed positions.
The soldiers, however, fought through the ambush and inflicted further casualties on the terrorists, forcing the surviving members of the group to flee the area.
He said the exact number of casualties suffered by the terrorists during the subsequent encounter had yet to be established.
However, intelligence gathered from communities within the general area reportedly indicated that several terrorists sustained apparent gunshot wounds, while bodies of some of their neutralised colleagues were evacuated by fleeing members of the group.
In a separate operation conducted on the same day, troops intercepted a suspected arms and explosives courier during routine snap checks on vehicles.
The suspect was identified by the military as 57-year-old Sani Umar.
According to Danja, a search of Umar’s vehicle led to the recovery of 180 units of 20mm Super Power explosives.
The military said preliminary findings indicated that the explosives were allegedly being transported from Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State for delivery to suspected terrorist elements operating in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Umar, his vehicle and the recovered explosives have subsequently been taken into military custody for further investigation.
The Army said the interception was significant because terrorist groups depend on logistics networks to obtain weapons, explosives and other materials required to sustain their operations.
The military said the latest operations demonstrate its strategy of simultaneously attacking terrorist strongholds while disrupting the supply chains that provide them with the resources needed to carry out attacks.
“The Theatre Command remains resolute in sustaining the momentum of ongoing operations and will continue to deny terrorists and other criminal elements freedom of action across the North West,” Danja stated.
The Army reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining offensive operations against terrorist and criminal elements across the North West, while continuing efforts to dismantle the networks responsible for supplying them with arms, ammunition and explosives.