Military Loses 22 Soldiers Weeks After ISWAP Killed Six

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has confirmed the death of 22 soldiers during troops’ invasion of Timbuktu Triangle, a notorious hotspot for terrorist activity in the North East.

The DHQ disclosed this on Sunday after reports speculated an attack on troops by terrorists, allegedly leading to the death of the Commanding Officer of the 149 Battalion, Lt. Col. TE Alari.

The statement signed by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, revealed that the operation commenced on January 16 till date.

The statement read partly: “Troops recorded several encounters with terrorists during the course of the clearance operations which result in over 70 terrorist combatants including 3 notable terrorist commanders neutralized.

“The terrorist commanders neutralised include and are not limited to the following: TALHA (Terrorist Special Forces Commander), Mallam UMAR (Terrorist Operations commander) and ⁠ABU YAZEED (Terrorist Brigade Commander).

“Meanwhile during the operations, the terrorists deployed Improvised Explosive Devices( IEDs), Person Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers) as well as Vehicle Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers in explosive vehicles) to ward off troops’ advance and attacks.

“Troops already familiar with the terrorist tactics thwarted several terrorist attempts, including shooting down the amateur drones used by the terrorist.

“Overall, during the course of the operations, troops sadly recorded 22 killed in action casualties with several others wounded in action.

“On this account, the media is enjoined to resist publishing names of troop casualties to allow the formal notification of their next of kin.

“On the whole, the operation is ongoing and the public will be updated on further developments in due course.”

The incident comes barely three weeks after the military lost no fewer than six soldiers to ambush by terrorists in Sabon Gari, Borno state.

The military described the situation as a “surprise attack” on one of its military camps in Sabon Gari. However, the troops fighting patrol who had returned to the base thwarted the operation, leading to the death of over 30 terrorists.

Military Loses 22 Soldiers Weeks After ISWAP Killed Six is first published on The Whistler Newspaper