The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said in a statement on Wednesday that over 300 fighters of the Boko Haram sect have been killed by troops of the Nigerian Army and personnel of the Air Force and have liberated , Monguno, Gabchari, Abba Jabari, Gajigana, Gajiram, Damakar, Kumaliwa, Bosso Wanti, Jeram and Kabrisungul communities from the sect.
He said that troops had commenced a cordon and search operation in the areas involved in the latest operation, and stated further that some of the terrorists and their weapons were captured by the troops.
Olukolade also said that the military captured “five different types of armoured fighting vehicles, an anti-aircraft gun, about 50 cases of packed bombs and eight different types of machine guns, five rocket propelled grenade, 49 boxes of various types and calibres of ammunition, as well as 300 motorcycles destroyed in the fighting.
He added that “a total of six Hilux vehicles including those mounted with antiaircraft guns were also destroyed.
The Defence spokesman said that two soldiers lost their lives while ten others were wounded in the encounter with the terrorists.
Olukolade said that various phases of highly coordinated combined operation involving the Air Force and ground forces were ongoing in the mission area within and outside the country.
Meanwhile, about 30 civilians were killed when an unidentified airplane dropped a bomb on a Nigerian border village, military sources based nearby in Niger said on Wednesday.
“We don’t know whose plane it was. We understand that the victims are residents who were gathered for a ceremony but who were mistaken for terrorists,” said a military source based in the town of Bosso in Niger.
He added, “Around 30 people perished.”
