Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have repelled a coordinated attack by suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province in Kukareta community, Borno State, killing a top commander and 24 other insurgents.
The Theatre Commander, North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, disclosed this on Thursday in Maiduguri while giving an update on the operation.
Abubakar said the insurgents launched the assault shortly after midnight in a bid to overrun the community but were met with fierce resistance from troops of Sector 2, who engaged them in a gun battle that lasted for about three hours.
He identified the slain commander as Abu Umar Bundi Munzir, noting that his death dealt a significant blow to the террорист group’s operational structure.
According to him, “The terrorists initiated the attack in the early hours, but our troops responded decisively, neutralising 25 insurgents, including their commander, and forcing the remaining fighters to retreat in disarray.”
The military high command said one of the insurgents was captured alive during the encounter.
Abubakar added that troops, in a follow-up exploitation of the battlefield, recovered a large cache of weapons and ammunition abandoned by the fleeing terrorists.
Items recovered, he said, included 18 AK-47 rifles, three General Purpose Machine Guns, two PKT anti-aircraft guns, three Rocket-Propelled Grenade tubes, two mortar tubes, four hand grenades, and several rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.
He further disclosed that two soldiers sustained gunshot injuries during the exchange of fire but have since been stabilised, while an armoured vehicle deployed as reinforcement had its tyres damaged.
The commander noted that troops were continuing clearance operations along the terrorists’ withdrawal routes, where blood stains and medical items suggested that more casualties might have been inflicted on the fleeing fighters.
He described the outcome of the operation as a major success in the ongoing counter-insurgency campaign in the North-East, stressing that sustained military pressure would be maintained to deny insurgents freedom of action.
Kukareta and surrounding communities in Borno State have witnessed repeated attempts by insurgents to regain footholds, despite intensified military operations in the region.
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