January 30, (THEWILL) – At least 32 members of Boko Haram including a Commander, Abu Iliya, have been neutralised by troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno State.
Iliya was killed on Saturday, when troops raided the terrorists’ hideout in the Kayamari-Habasha-Yuwe axis of Sambisa Forest.
A counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, who disclosed this in Maiduguri on Sunday, said the troops achieved the feat following an intelligence-led patrol of the terrorists’ camps in three villages.
“The troops made contact with the terrorists in the course of a counter offensive patrol in Yuwe village”, he said.
According to Makama, the troops also destroyed 50 bicycles recovered at the hideout.
A military source in Maiduguri said the troops in a fierce gun battle with the terrorists successfully neutralised some of the insurgents, while others fled in disarray.
The source added that the terrorists abandoned their weapons and other property in the villages.
Major General Ibrahim Ali, the newly appointed Theatre Commander of OPHK, vowed to sustain troops’ efforts towards ending the fight against the insurgents.
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