Nigerian troops repel Boko Haram attack, kill 18 insurgents

The Nigerian army has repelled what it described as ‘‘an early morning daring attack by fleeing Boko Haram terrorists’‘ on its installations located on the the fringes of Sambisa forest.

This was contained in a press statement released by the spokesman of the military, Colonel Sani Usman.

TROOPS REPELLED ATTACK IN PULKA AND BITTA https://t.co/C3ZuWTrYc2skusman channelstv pic.twitter.com/I5zTtO7LJf

— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) March 8, 2016

According to him, the troops killed two terrorists when they came under an initial attack around the Damboa, Tokumbere and Pulka axis of the Sambisa forest area, where the terrorists are believed to be hiding.

The casualty figures for the second attack was rather heavy as 16 insurgents were killed by the army and one was captured alive during the exchanges.

The statement further revealed that the army retrieved several rounds of ammunition after the combat; ‘‘The gallant troops also recovered 11 AK-47 rifles, 3 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), 1 Browning Machine Gun (BMG) and 2 Toyota Hilux vehicles. Others are a 60mm Mortar tube, 7 boxes of 12.7mm ammunition and 1 belt of 12.7mm ammunition,’‘ the statement concluded.

On the part of the army, there were 3 soldiers that sustained minor injuries.

The Nigerian army since the assumption of power by President Buhari have taken the anti terror fight to Boko Haram insurgents, who claim to be fighting towards the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria’s northeast.

As a result of their activities, several lives have been lost and millions have been displaced from their homes in a six-year insurgency that has threatened the peace of three Nigerian states namely, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa; all in the northeast.

Beyond Nigeria, the activities of Boko Haram have gone as far as threatening the Lake Chad region comprising Niger, Cameroon’s far north region and Chad. That situation led to the formation of a Multinational Task force to fight the insurgents.