A senior Army officer, Lt. Col. T.E Alari, and 21 other soldiers have been confirmed dead as well as 20 others sustained varying degrees of gunshots wounds during clashes between the military and members of the Boko Haram group in Yobe State.
Meanwhile, on the part of the terrorist group, over 60 gunmen
3 notorious commanders identified as Talha, the ISWAP women leader, Mallam Umar the RPG trainer and Abu Yazeed the ISWAP Brigade Commander in the Timbuktu Triangle were killed during the face-off with the Army in the state.
Despite the casualties suffered by the military, the aggrieved soldiers recovered 14 AK 47 rifles, 6 RPG tubes, 18 motorcycles and 24 AK 47 magazines from the terrorists.
Confirming the death toll on Sunday, Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said that the weeklong attack on the terrorists was to ensure they leave their enclave and either surrender or flee out of the country.
He said: “Troops of Operation Hadin Kai in North East of the country conducted clearance Operation to renowned terrorist stronghold and enclave known as Timbuktu Triangle.
“The three prong operation aimed at dismantling the terrorist presence with triangle commenced on 16 Jan 25 till date.
“Troops recorded several encounters with terrorists during the course of the clearance operations which result in over 70 terrorists combatants including 3 notable terrorist commanders neutralized. The terrorist commanders neutralised include and is not limited to the following : Talha (Terrorist Special Forces Commander), Mallam Umar (Terrorist Operations commander) and Abu Yazeed (Terrorist Brigade Commander).
“Meanwhile during the operations, the terrorist deployed Improvised Explosive Devices( IEDs), Person Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers) as well as Vehicle Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers in explosive vehicles) to ward off troops advance and attacks. Troops already familiar with the terrorist tactics thwarted the several terrorist attempts, including shooting down the amateur drones used by the terrorist.
“Overall, during the course of the operations, troops sadly recorded 22 killed in action casualties with several others wounded in action.
“On the whole, the operation is ongoing and the public will be updated on further developments in due course”.
