DHQ: Troops killed 106 terrorists, arrested 103 criminals in one week

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says 106 terrorists were killed and 103 others arrested by troops in one week across the country.

Edward Buba, director of defence media operations, in a statement on Friday, said the terrorists were killed in synchronised operations between the ground and air forces on terrorist enclaves and hideouts.

Buba said the troops also apprehended 22 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 96 kidnap victims.

He added that troops recovered 171 assorted weapons and 2,452 rounds of ammunition during the operations.

“The breakdown comprised 47 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 18 pump action rifles, 17 locally fabricated guns, 14 dane guns, 12 locally fabricated pistols, one fabricated revolver, one hand grenade, 81mm mortar bomb, one mortar tube and four bandoliers,” NAN quoted Buba as saying.

“Others are 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 cases of cartridges.

“They also include 14 magazines, 10 vehicles, 23 motorcycles, 19 mobile phones, one bicycle, four baofeng radios, and the sum of N112,920, amongst other items.”

Buba said the troops of operation Hadin Kai in the north-east killed 38 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, rescued 16 hostages and recovered several arms and ammunition.

He said 46 terrorists, comprising eight men, 14 women and 24 children surrendered to troops between March 13 and 19.

In the north-central, Buba said the troops of operations Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke eliminated seven violent extremists, apprehended 27 criminals, rescued eight abducted persons and recovered a large cache of weapons.

He added that troops of operation Hadarin Daji in the north-west killed 31 terrorists, arrested 13 others, rescued 56 hostages and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition.

Buba further said the troops of operation Delta Safe in the south-south discovered 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 said troops also recovered 772,350 litres of stolen crude oil, 80,530 litres of illegally refined AGO and 1,500 litres of DPK in one week.

In the south-east, Buba said the troops of operation UDO KA uncovered and destroyed an improvised explosive device  (IED) factory in Ihiala LGA of Anambra state.