Troops kill scores of terrorists in Borno, 20 others surrender

The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Hadin Kai has killed scores of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African (ISWAP) terrorists in an air raid in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.

 It was gathered that the terrorists from the two factions were neutralised in the middle of their infighting in Gazuwa, a notorious headquarters of Boko Haram, located 8 kilometres from Bama LGA.

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Zagazola Makama, a counter-terrorism expert and security analyst in the LakeChad, said the attack was launched after a series of surveillance missions that indicated heavy presence of the terrorists in the area.

“They were in a middle of a fight when the Super Tulcano attacked them, dealing a devastating hit on them, killing scores of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the process,” he said. 

Another source explained also that in continuation of its employment of air strikes to decimate the insurgents, the airstrikes successfully took off another group of the terrorists around the Gargash axis. 

Life has been turned upside-down in the camps of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād (Boko Haram) within the past weeks following massive air and ground attacks coordinated by the troops of Operation Hadin Kai.

 It was learnt that no fewer than 20 terrorists and their families from the Njimiya camp of the terrorists had surrendered to the troops of 21 Armoured Brigade, Bama, due to the fear of being attacked by air strikes. 

Another source said the continued attacks had triggered massive displacement and hunger in most of the terrorists’ camps, leaving them with no option but to surrender, continue hiding in one place without food, run out of the forest or die.

The latest success followed a report that the troops had killed another notorious commander of Boko Haram, Alhaji Modu, also known as “Bem Bem”, and 27 other fighters during a military airstrike around Mandara Mountain in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.

Daily Post reports that Modu was a renowned drug baron and armed robber before he joined Boko Haram.

While confirming the report, military sources disclosed that the operation was coordinated following credible intelligence reports which revealed that the ISWAP fighters had converged in large numbers in the area in readiness to launch a fresh attack in some areas. According to reports, Modu masterminded the displacement of Bama town in 2014, killing hundreds of innocent citizens before declaring it a Boko Haram caliphate.

The now deceased terrorists’ leader, according to reports, was under the supervision of Ali Ngoshe, a top Boko Haram leader, and together they hid inside the caves in Mandara Mountain from where they coordinated attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Niger Republic.