Troops Kill 86 Terrorists, Arrest 101 In 7 Days

Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said troops on internal operations neutralised 86 terrorists and arrested 101 others in one week.

The director of Defence Media Operations Major General Edward Buba who disclosed this during a briefing with journalists in Abuja said troops also rescued 21 hostages from terrorists’ enclaves.

Buba said troops also arrested 30 suspected oil thieves and recovered stolen products worth N736,115,470 only.

He said troops recovered 111 assorted weapons and 1,124 assorted ammunitions within the period under review.

The director gave a breakdown of recovered weapons as: 65 AK47 rifles, one HK G3 dun, one G3 rifle,  eight locally fabricated guns, 15 dane guns, two fabricated rifle, one locally made pistol, one English pistol, one pump action gun, 2 auto pump action gun, 2 single barrel guns.

Others include: 14 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 993 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, five rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, five rounds of 7.62mm x 39mm, 99 live cartridges, one round of 9mm ammo, one  shotgun cartridge, two bandoliers, two fabricated swords, 13 magazines, five vehicles, 29 motorcycles, six bicycles, mobile phones and one GTA radio amongst other items.

Meanwhile, in the Niger Delta area he said troops discovered and destroyed 60 illegal refining sites, 37 dugout pits, 65 boats, 71 storage tanks, 14 vehicles.

Troops also recovered 108 cooking ovens, four pump machines and one speedboat.

Troops also recovered 1,013,530 litres of stolen crude oil, 299,169 litres of illegally refined AGO and 3,158 litres of DPK.

He reiterated that troops are hunting the terrorist commanders and their senior leadership.

“Indeed, from their topmost leadership to the lowest commanders are dead men walking and we will stop at nothing until they are dead or surrender,” he said.

The director said the armed forces has demonstrated commitment by its actions to winning this war, adding that troops will continue to act with tremendous force to achieve the task ahead.

He continued, “Our aim is to find and destroy the terrorists wherever they may be hiding in order to ensure their enduring defeat. This would deny the terrorists the ability to terrorise or hurt citizens across the country”.