The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, has charged troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai OPHK, to smoke out remnants of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists to end insurgency in the North-East.
Irabor gave the charge yesterday while addressing troops of Operation Hadin Kai at the Theatre Command in Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital.
This is even as Nigerian troops deployed in Mafa have successfully repelled attacks by the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) in Ajiri village of Mafa local government area of Borno State.
Irabor said, “You must ensure that the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province ( ISWAP) terrorists are smoked out from their hideouts.”
The CDS added that there are remnants of criminals in Sambisa Forest and the Lake Chad region.
Assessing troops in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations, he said, “Huge progress is being made in our joint military operations to restore peace in the insurgency affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.”
He, therefore, noted that with the troops’ resilience and commitments in the counter-insurgency operations, the war could end to restore peace in the region.
In another development, troops deployed in Mafa have successfully repelled attacks by the ISWAP in Ajiri village of Mafa local government area of Borno State.
It was gathered that the failed attack was coordinated by one Abou Mubammed in response to the killing of 41 fighters and a commander, after the troops of Operation Hadin Kai stormed their enclaves in Mukdolo and Bone on March 26, 2023.
Zagazola Makama, counter insurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad region, had reported that in their meetings at Kajeri Dogumba, Bula Yagana Aliye in Mafa, ISWAP fighters vowed to revenge the mass killing of their members.
Sources said that the terrorists were said to have stormed the town on Wednesday night, March 29, 2023 and attempted an attack on the military base, which resulted in heavy gun battle with the troops.
The source further said the troops later overwhelmed the terrorists in a gun battle and successfully repelled the attack, while inflicting serious fatalities on the overpowered fighters.
Consequently, the terrorists staged another ambush on troops reinforcement team deployed from Mafa.
Fortunately, the troops repelled the ambush, forcing the terrorists to flee in disarray.
One member of Civilian JTF was, however, injured in the encounter, according to another source.
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