The Defence Headquarters reports that soldiers have eliminated 106 terrorists and arrested 103 in various operations nationwide over the past week.
Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, stated this while providing an update on the operations in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
Buba mentioned that the troops also captured 22 individuals involved in oil theft and rescued 96 people who had been kidnapped.
He also stated that soldiers recovered 171 different weapons and 2,452 rounds of ammunition during the operations.
“This breakdown includes 47 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 18 pump action rifles, 17 locally made guns, 14 Dane guns, 12 homemade pistols, one fabricated revolver, one hand grenade, an 81mm mortar bomb, one mortar tube, and four bandoliers
“There were also 995 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 468 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 317 live cartridges, 125 rounds of 9mm ammo, 313 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 13 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm, 19 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm, 167 empty shells of 7.62mm special ammo, 45 empty shells of 7.62mm NATO, and 72 empty cartridge cases.
“Additionally, there were 14 magazines, 10 vehicles, 23 motorcycles, 19 mobile phones, one bicycle, four baofeng radios, and the sum of N112,920, along with other items,” he said.
In the North East, Buba stated that troops from Operation Hadin Kai eliminated 38 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, rescued 16 kidnapped hostages, and recovered numerous weapons and ammunition, among other things during the week.
He noted that a total of 46 terrorists, including eight adult males, 14 adult females, and 24 children, surrendered to the troops between March 13 and Mar 19 within the theatre of operations.
In the North Central, Buba stated that soldiers from Operations Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke eliminated seven violent extremists, arrested 27, rescued eight kidnapped hostages, and recovered a large cache of weapons.
In the North West, he said the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji eliminated 31 terrorists, arrested 13 others, rescued 56 kidnapped hostages, and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition.
He added that troops from Operation Whirl Punch arrested nine violent extremists/terrorists and rescued 19 kidnap victims within the week.
Buba said troops from Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta area found and destroyed 40 illegal refining sites with 51 dugout pits, 17 boats, 21 cooking ovens, three pumping machines, 15 storage tanks, and four vehicles.
He also mentioned that the troops recovered 772,350 litres of stolen crude oil, 80,530 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 1,500 litres of DPK within the week.
In the South East, Buba said the troops of Operation UDO KA uncovered and destroyed the IED factory in the Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra.
He added that troops had rescued five kidnap victims in Enugu North Land and recovered one vehicle.
Meanwhile, about 16 operatives of the Nigerian Army were recently ambushed and killed in Delta State.
The fallen soldiers, serving with the 181 Amphibious Battalion, were on a peacekeeping mission to quell community clashes in Bomadi Local Government of Delta State when the incident occurred.
(NAN)