By Musa Abubakar
Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East) Operation HADIN KAI have repelled another attempted attack by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists on a military formation in Yobe State, killing scores of insurgents during a fierce overnight battle.
The attack targeted the 120 Task Force Battalion in Goniri, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, late on Saturday and continued into the early hours of Sunday.
Military authorities said the terrorists, who advanced from the Mandunari axis around midnight, were detected early by troops on ambush duty, leading to a coordinated counter-offensive.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Media Information Officer of Operation HADIN KAI, Lt. Col. Sani Uba, said troops launched a “well-coordinated spoiling attack” that trapped the insurgents in what he described as a devastating killing zone.
According to him, the military successfully prevented the attackers from breaching the camp, while no equipment was lost during the encounter.
He added that air support from the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI and the Nigerian Army Aviation reinforced ground troops, leading to heavy casualties among the fleeing insurgents.
“Exploitation of the general area revealed extensive blood trails, body parts and battle damage consistent with scores of terrorist casualties, in addition to terrorist corpses recovered within the immediate vicinity,” the statement said.
Items recovered from the scene included one General Purpose Machine Gun, two PKT machine guns, five AK-47 rifles, ammunition belts and other personal effects.
The military also disclosed that wounded soldiers were receiving treatment and were in stable condition, while clearance operations were ongoing to track fleeing insurgents.
The latest operation came barely 48 hours after troops reportedly repelled another large-scale ISWAP attack on the Headquarters of 27 Brigade and the Buni Gari checkpoint in Yobe State, where about 50 terrorists were said to have been killed.
Meanwhile, troops of Operation HADIN KAI also intercepted suspected logistics supplies allegedly meant for ISWAP and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad fighters along the Banki–Kumshe route in Borno State.
Security sources said the interception occurred in the early hours of May 8 when troops of the 152 Task Force Battalion, deployed on ambush duty, engaged suspected insurgents crossing into Nigeria from the Cameroon border axis.
The suspects reportedly abandoned the supplies and fled after coming under military fire.
Recovered items included eight bicycles, several jerrycans containing petrol, drugs, surgical drips, motorcycle spare parts, grains, detergents, food items and phone accessories.
Military sources also revealed that a Cameroon phone number written on a piece of carton was recovered during the operation.
Authorities said no casualty was recorded among troops during the operation, adding that surveillance and intelligence activities had been intensified to dismantle insurgents’ supply routes and operational networks across the North-East.
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