The Nigerian Army has confirmed the killing of, at least, 16 Boko Haram insurgents during an attack on their base at Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State on Friday.
The acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, confirmed this in a statement on Saturday.
Usman said the insurgents stormed the troops location carrying sophisticated arms and ammunition, including Improvised Explosive Devices.
“Yesterday evening, remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in their numbers attacked our troops location at Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.
“The terrorists came with Motorcycles Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (MCBIED), Anti-Aircraft Guns and other weapons at about 5:00 p.m.
“The exchange of fire lasted for some hours before they were overwhelmed by the troops firepower.
“The troops killed 16 insurgents, seven died instantly during the exchange of fire while nine other bodies were discovered during a clearance operation in the surrounding area on Saturday morning.”
Usman added that quite a number of the insurgents escaped with gun shot wounds.
He said the truck and the mounted weapon were also damaged beyond repairs while five soldiers sustained varying degree of injuries.
Usman said bodies of the two fallen heroes and the wounded soldiers had been evacuated to Maiduguri, while reinforcement was sent from Gomboru Ngala.
He said the troops recovered a General Purpose Machine Gun, Rocket Propelled Grenade, ammunitions while two terrorists were captured alive.
Usman said troops have also discovered and safely detonated two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted along Gomboru-Rann road to prevent troops reinforcement to Rann.
He said the Commanding Officer of 3 Battalion visited the troops and held durbar with them, commending them for their doggedness during attack.
Usman noted that despite the incident, troops morale remained high as they have continued with the clearance operations.
Meanwhile, the Council of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) of Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Troop Contributing Countries (TCC), has resolved to intensify collective efforts aimed at clearing the remnant of Boko Haram terrorists in the region.
The council’s resolution, at the end of its a special session held in Niger Republic, is contained in a statement on Saturday by Col. Muhammad Dole, the MNJTF’s Public Information Officer.
He said the session was held to reappraise the special joint operation around the Chad Basin tagged `Operation Gama Aiki.’
Dole said the council reaffirmed its commitment to continue pooling resources together to finally combat the menace of Boko Haram terrorists in the sub-region.
He said the Council of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) of Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Troop Contributing Countries (TCC), held special session to reappraise Op GAMA AIKI.
According to Dole, the Chairman of the Council and Chief of Defence Staff of Nigerien Armed Forces, Gen Seyni Garba addressed the meeting on the status of the operation.
“It is apparent that despite the limited capability of the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT), they still pose serious security threats in the region.
“It is absolutely necessary to pull resources together to flush out the remnant of the terrorists,’’ Garba was quoted as saying.
Dole said Commander of MNJTF, Maj.-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun briefed the meeting on the general security, logistic and operational status of Operation Gama Aiki.
He said the commander assured the meeting that the MNJTF was making tremendous progress in the theatre of operation despite the challenges.
Dole said the council commended both the air and ground forces for their professional conduct in the frontlines.
