At least four soldiers sustained injuries as troops foiled a terrorist attack on Kukawa town in Borno State and killed 26 fighters.
Terrorists had at about 2250 hours on Friday launched an attack on troops of 101 Special Forces Battalion deployed at Kukawa.
A statement by the acting military information officer at the headquarters of the Joint Task Force (North East) Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Mohammed Goni, said troops responded swiftly with effective direct and indirect fire, successfully repelling the attack and compelling the terrorists to withdraw towards the Cross Kauwa axis.
He noted that during the fierce engagement, several terrorists were neutralised, while others were observed to have sustained gunshot wounds as they fled the area.
He said a subsequent exploitation by troops led to the recovery of terrorist corpses, further confirming casualties inflicted on the terrorists during the encounter.
He stated further that as the terrorists withdrew towards Cross Kauwa on motorcycles, the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai was promptly coordinated to interdict their movement.
“Despite challenging weather conditions, the Air Component successfully engaged terrorists taking cover under trees, neutralising an estimated 10 terrorists,” he said.
The statement revealed further that the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets tracked about 20 motorcycles conveying fleeing terrorists towards the Tunbuns/Kangarwa axis.
“The intelligence enabled the air component to conduct a follow-up precision strike, neutralising an additional 15 terrorists and destroying 10 motorcycles, thereby further degrading the terrorists’ mobility and fighting capability,” it stated.
According to him, during subsequent exploitation operations, ground troops recovered two motorcycles, neutralised an additional terrorist and recovered assorted ammunition and other items.
The Theatre said the coordinated ground and air action effectively disrupted the attack, interdicted the terrorists’ withdrawal and further degraded their ability to regroup or conduct sustained operations within the area.
