Troops Rescue 1,993 Hostages, Kill 2,245 Terrorists, Arrest 3,682 In 3 Months — DHQ

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said troops on internal operations across the country have rescued 1,993 hostages, killed 2,245 terrorists and arrested 3,682 suspected terrorists in three months.

Director Defence Media operations, Major General Edward Buba disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists on troops’ operations in the second quarter of 2024.

Maj.-Gen. Buba between April-June, said troops also recovered 2,783 weapons, 64,547 ammunitions and stolen crude oil worth N10,533,131,470.00 only.

He gave a breakdown of recovered weapons as 1,169 AK47 rifles, 36,273 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 14,764 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 713 assorted arms and 9,850 assorted ammo.

Others include 9,225,149 litres of stolen crude oil, 2,874,916 litres of illegally refined AGO, 29,900 litres of DPK and 31,380 litres of PMS, among other item.

General Buba said the military high command will continually make assessments of troops’ actions to make adjustments by “amending our operations to increasingly ensure we minimise civilian casualties”.

He boasted the military operations are progressing according to plan while abiding to international laws governing armed conflict.

“We will do everything within the bounds of the law to make our nation safe for citizens. The military will keep up with the fighting spirit and maintain the stamina in the frontlines. Our pride is to risk our lives to save the lives of our citizens. This is what we do to secure our country,” he said.