17 Terrorists, Two Soldiers Die In Fresh Borno Duel

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17 Terrorists, Two Soldiers Die In Fresh Borno Duel

Troops of the 25 Task Force Brigade have killed 17 Boko Haram/Islamic State insurgents in a fresh duel along Damboa-Maiduguri highway in Borno State. The Defence Headquarters said the Tuesday clash also claimed two soldiers, while four others sustained injuries.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement yesterday, added that a cache of arms was seized by the troops. His words: “On Tuesday, the troops of 25 Task Force Brigade deployed at Damboa, in conjunction with elements of Sector 2 Special Forces while on clearance operations along Damboa–Maiduguri Road, made contact with a Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province criminals’ ambush team along their axis of advance.

“Instinctively, the valiant troops outflanked and engaged the criminals with an overwhelming volume of firepower, forcing them to withdraw in disarray.

“Seventeen Boko Haram/ISWAP criminals were neutralised, as several others were believed to have narrowly escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds, while a cache of arms was equally captured by the gallant troops.”He continued: “Regrettably, two valiant soldiers paid the supreme price, while four others were wounded in action.

“However, the wounded in action soldiers have been evacuated to a military medical facility, and are currently responding to treatment.”In a related development, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, yesterday, insisted that his men were better trained and equipped than the terrorists.

During the graduation of 1,142 personnel at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI) in Kaduna State, the military chief challenged the troops to defeat the criminal elements terrorising parts of the country.

The training, designed to strengthen the fight against insurgency in the North East and banditry in the North West, is second in a series.Reiterating the commitment of the current administration to the welfare of soldiers, he ordered the immediate promotion of the trainees, most of whom were Private, to their next ranks.

He cautioned the officers against social media influence, imploring them to be diligent.The COAS charged the troops to leverage their acquired skills when eventually deployed to the warfronts. Earlier, the Commandant of NASI, Maj.-Gen. Kelvin Aligbe, said the graduates were drilled on close contact combat, camouflage, emergency operations and extraction under fire.