Army: We killed 107 Boko Haram fighters in Sambisa but lost four soldiers

The army says it killed about 107 Boko Haram insurgents during two different encounters in Sambisa forest on Monday.

Sani Usman, director army public relations, who disclosed this in a statement, said four soldiers lost their lives in the operation while nine others sustained injuries.

He said the troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE have been making tremendous progress in the ongoing ‘Operation DEEP PUNCH 2’ in the various sectors.

“Troops yesterday Monday 8th January 2018, cleared Boko Haram terrorists in Metele village, Tumbun Gini and Tumbun Ndjamena. During the clearance operations, Boko Haram terrorists abandoned the area in disarray leaving behind livestock, a large quantity of foodstuff, motorcycles and donkeys,” he said.

“Also in Metele however, the terrorists attempted to attack troops in harbour, but this was stiffly resisted with heavy casualty on Boko Haram terrorists. Troops neutralized over 57 of them, destroyed gun trucks and other equipment.

“Troops also captured 1 Anti-Aircraft Gun, 116 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition with metal links, 4 Ak-47 rifles, 57 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition (Special), 2 Light Machine Guns, 2 Rocket Propelled Grenade 7 (RPG 7) Tubes, with one RPG Bomb and 2 already primed 36 Hand Grenades. Other recovered items include 1 Small Solar panel with a Gionee mobile phone, 1 Holy Qur’an, 6 Hadith Books, as well as 5 Gun trucks.

“Sadly, 4 of our troops paid the supreme price while 9 others were wounded in action. Specifically, a Boko Haram vehicle laden with Improvised Explosive Devices rammed into an MRAP vehicle which exploded killing 3 soldiers, a Civilian JTF and wounding the other soldiers.

“The remains of the gallant and wounded heroes have been evacuated to 8 Division Medical Services and Hospital, Monguno.”