Troops rescue 797 captives, kill 35 terrorists in Cameroun border areas

FCT commissioner inaugurates taskforce to mop-up illegal firearms

TROOPS of Operation Lafiya Dole on Monday rescued 797 held captives and killed 35 Boko Haram terrorists in the Camerounian border areas of Borno State. The captives were rescued in five border villages of KushaKucha, Surdewala, Alkanerik, Magdewerne and Mayen in the Northeast.

Deputy Director, Public Relations, of Theatre Command Operations, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this yesterday in a statement in Maiduguri.

He said among the rescued hostages held by insurgents in the border villages, were 209 children, 121 women and three men.

According to him, troops also recovered a cache of arms and tools in the Sabil Huda enclave of Sambisa Forest.

He further disclosed that troops also killed 35 terrorists and destroyed 15 locallyfabricated rifles recovered from them.

He said the rescued people would be conveyed to Bama and Pulka towns for profiling before handing them to Internally-displaced Persons (IDPS) camp officials.

Nwachukwu said: “As the clearance operations progressed, the combined troops tracked the terrorists to Boko, Daushe and Gave villages, where they unleashed another attack on the fleeing insurgents.

“Two insurgents were killed in the fire fight and recovered an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, a trolley and unspecified quantity of premium motor spirit in jerry cans.

“Troops also extricated 194 civilians held captive by the insurgents and destroyed their makeshift accommodation.”

According to him, after successfully clearing Miyanti and Wudila villages, the troops rescued three men, 121 women and 209 children.

Meanwhile, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Sadiq Bello, has inaugurated the command joint taskforce team, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of operations, Olumese Valentine tasked with the responsibility of mopping up all illegal firearms in the FCT.