NEWS Troops rescue 338 captives, kill 30 terrorists

The Nigerian army yesterday said troops of the 28 Task Force Brigade deployed at Bitta and Pridang have rescued 338 captives and killed 30 terrorists in raids in terrorists’ camps in the North East.

A statement by army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said the troops deployed at Bitta and Pridang carried out a successful raid on suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ camps at Bulajilin and Manawashe villages along Bita and Damboa road at the fringes of Sambisa forest on Tuesday.

He added that the troops were able to kill 30 Boko Haram terrorists.

“The unit also rescued 338 persons that were held captive by the terrorists in the enclaves. The rescued persons which comprised of male 8, female 138 and children 192, have since been evacuated to Mubi,” Usman said.

He further said troops also recovered arms and ammunitions during the raid operation which include 1 General Purpose Machine Gun and 2 Dane Guns, 150 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO), 6 boxes of 7.62mm (NATO) and 3 cutlasses.

Usman also said in a related development troops based on a tip off, ambushed and killed 4 suspected Boko Haram terrorists on a suicide bombing mission to Gubula, Madagali Local Government Area, Adamawa State.

He added that: “It is worthy to note that the raid operation on the Boko Haram Terrorists enclave coincided with the Chief of Army Staff’s operational visit to the Brigade Headquarters in Mubi.

“Having appealed and given the terrorists final warning, we would like to state that from now on troops within bounds of respect for human rights and rules of engagement, we shall continue to decisively deal with Boko Haram terrorists until they are defeated.

“Therefore, we are appealing for continued vigilance, security consciousness and above all cooperation with the military and security agencies to enable us successfully defeat the terrorists,” the army statement said.