Nigerian troops neutralise several Daesh terrorists, rescue seven kidnap victims

Nigerian troops have rescued seven kidnapped victims, killed two Daesh-linked terrorists and arrested four others during coordinated security operations across Borno, Yobe, Benue and Plateau states, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The offensive, code-named ‘Operation Hadin Kai', rescued two women and two children who escaped from a Daesh enclave in the Agapalawa area of the Mandara Mountains in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

The report added that a woman and her child, believed to be relatives of a Daesh fighter, also surrendered to troops after fleeing the Gobara enclave in the Sambisa Forest.

In separate operations carried out with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), troops arrested four suspected Daesh terrorists and collaborators in Gwoza, Gujba, and Kukawa local government areas of Borno and neighbouring Yobe State.

Retreating terrorists

According to the report, one of the suspects confessed to spying on troops conducting clearance operations along the Baga–Cross Kauwa road and providing logistical support to the armed group.

Security forces also thwarted an attempt by suspected Daesh terrorists to infiltrate Kirawa in Gwoza, forcing them to retreat. The report said a Nigerian Air Force aircraft later killed another suspected terrorist.

Elsewhere in Borno, troops discovered and safely detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the Maiduguri–Gamboru highway in Dikwa Local Government Area, preventing what authorities said could have been an attack on motorists.

In Benue State, troops under ‘Operation Whirl Stroke’, supported by local hunters and the Benue State Civil Protection Guards, rescued four kidnapped victims and killed two suspected kidnappers during clearance operations.

Weapons recovery

The operation also led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle, a G3 rifle, a pistol, 221 rounds of assorted ammunition, magazines, military camouflage uniforms and a point-of-sale (POS) terminal from the suspects' hideouts.

The report further said troops arrested five suspected terror members during follow-up raids on criminal hideouts in Otukpo Local Government Area, Benue State.

The report added that troops intercepted 15 jerrycans of smuggled petrol, while personnel under Operation Delta Safe dismantled an illegal oil refining site and seized equipment allegedly used for crude oil theft in Rivers State.