The Headquarters Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI, said its troops have foiled a terrorists attack on a Forward Operation Base(FOB), at Mandaragirau in Sector killing 38 terrorists.
The troops also recovered 7 AK-47 rifles, 8 magazines, 4 RPG bombs and assorted ammunition, while recording no fatalities, one MRAP was hit by RPG fire, with injured personnel promptly stabilized
The terrorists according to the media officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, stormed the area in the early hours of Saturday but met the resistance of troops who were on alert and engaged them decisively.
Uba, in a statement, said The troops engaged the attackers with well-coordinated ambushes and a deliberate offensive-defensive response that forced them into a disorderly withdrawal while the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI provided close air support to the troops and ISR feedbacks to enhance targeted kinetic responses.
He said Subsequent exploitation along the terrorists’ withdrawal routes inflicted further heavy losses. A total of about 38 terrorists were neutralized with 8 bodies recovered so far within the immediate engagement area and human intelligence from locals confirming over 30 additional terrorists’ bodies and weapons strewn along Garin Mallum–Garin Gajere axis into the Timbuktu Triangle.
He further stated that This was evidenced by blood trails and abandoned equipment. Troops also recovered 7 AK-47 rifles, 8 magazines, 4 RPG bombs and assorted ammunition, while recording no fatalities; one MRAP was hit by RPG fire, with injured personnel promptly stabilized. The scale of enemy losses has triggered widespread jubilation among local communities and highlights the sustained dominance of OPHK troops in denying terrorists freedom of action.
Further exploitation operations are ongoing along the Garin Mallum – Garin Gajere axis at the fringes of the Timbuktu Triangle to recover the littered terrorists’ corpses and consolidate gains.
