The Defence Headquarters on Thursday said the number of military personnel killed in an ambush at Gorgi in Borno State was 29 and not 47 as earlier reported.
The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, gave the clarifications at a press conference while reviewing update on the incident in Abuja.
Enenche disclosed that sequel to the encounter, a team was sent to carry out the due operational “After Action Procedure, which include reconfirmation of casualties and immediate medical evacuation required, among others”.
He explained that upon conclusion of the exercise, the team came up with the findings that 29 personnel were killed while 39 others wounded in action.
According to him, the casualty is as a result of explosion of the truck conveying logistics and ammunition resupply for the fighting echelon.
“This is contrary to the figures from the first contact situation report of 47 killed and 15 wounded in action.
“This is a common occurrence during combat operations due to the fog of war; encounters or conflicts, when first contact reports are released to higher quarters in contemporary times, in order to counter false reports and fake news by mischief makers,” he said.
Enenche further disclosed that over 100 of the terrorists were neutralised as a result of direct fire action and encounter with the land component troops during the clearance operation.
He noted that the figure was against the scores given during the briefing, 500 and 200 respectively provided by secondary sources.
“Ultimately; the land component successfully cleared Gorgi and dealt a heavy blow on the enemy, and the end state of clearing Gorgi was achieved.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria hereby assures the general public that it will remain committed to tackling the security challenges in the country to ensure that the Country is peaceful,” he said.
