Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) have announced the deaths of at least 38 suspected ISWAP terrorists who attacked a military base in Mandaragirau village of Biu Local Government Area of Borno State in the early hours of Saturday.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Media Information Officer of OPHK, Lt. Col. Sani Uba, said the troops decisively defeated a multi-front attack by the ISWAP terrorists on its Forward Operating Base (FOB).
He stated that the troops engaged the attackers with a well-coordinated and deliberate offensive-defensive response that forced them into a disorderly withdrawal.
Lt Col. Uba also disclosed that the Air Component of the Operation HADIN KAI provided close air support to the troops and Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) feedback to enhance targeted kinetic responses.
“Subsequent exploitation along the terrorists’ withdrawal routes inflicted further heavy losses. A total of about 38 terrorists were neutralised, with eight 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 said.
According to him, the troops also recovered seven AK-47 rifles, eight magazines, four RPG bombs and assorted ammunition, “while recording no fatalities; one MRAP was hit by RPG fire, with injured personnel promptly stabilised.”
Uba added that 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 the gains.
He commended the troops for their gallantry and resilience, and urged them to sustain the operational tempo in the security interest of the North East region.