Relief In Borno As Troops Foil Deadly Attack

Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), repelled an attempted attack by ISWAP fighters on the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Mandaragirau in Sector 2 on Saturday, engaging the insurgents in a coordinated response that forced a retreat and resulted in significant casualties.

Details provided by the Media Information Officer, OPHK, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, disclosed that troops employed a combination of ambush tactics and structured offensive-defensive measures during the encounter, disrupting the attackers’ advance and compelling them to withdraw in disarray.

Air support units attached to Operation HADIN KAI complemented the ground operation by providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), alongside targeted strikes that reinforced troop actions on the battlefield.

Uba noted that follow-up operations along the withdrawal routes of the insurgents extended the engagement beyond the initial contact point, with troops reportedly inflicting additional losses as they pursued fleeing fighters toward surrounding areas.

He said, “A total of about 38 terrorists were neutralised with 8 bodies recovered so far within the immediate engagement area and human intelligence from locals confirming over 30 additional terrorists’ bodies and weapons strewn along the Garin Mallum–Garin Gajere axis into the Timbuktu Triangle.

” Blood trails and abandoned equipment evidenced this. Troops also recovered 7 AK-47 rifles, 8 magazines, 4 RPG bombs and assorted ammunition, while recording no fatalities; one MRAP was hit by RPG fire, with injured personnel promptly stabilised.

“The scale of enemy losses has triggered widespread jubilation among local communities and highlights the sustained dominance of OPHK troops in denying terrorists freedom of action” Uba said.

Troops have continued exploitation operations along the Garin Mallum–Garin Gajere axis, particularly around the fringes of the Timbuktu Triangle, to recover bodies, secure abandonedintending to recoverational gsecurethe area.