The Nigerian Army said yesterday that scores of Boko Haram terrorists’ were killed, several arms and ammunition recovered and 16 hostages rescued when its troops backed by Airforce aircraft, launched clearance operations on Ngoshe and Gava villages close to Gwoza.
A statement from Army headquarters signed by Col Sani Usman, detailing the operations said, “Troops of 121 Task Force Battalion, 26 Task Force Brigade, accompanied by a large number of Civilian JTF from Gwoza, embarked on a very aggressive patrol that dislodged remnants Boko Haram terrorists hibernating at Ngoshe and Gava villages, located close to Gwoza on the mountainous terrain”.
“The essence of the robust patrol which was supported by the Nigeria Air Force and Cameroonian Defence Forces who provided air cover and real time Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance, was to clear the remnants of the terrorists hiding in the mountainous area and rescue all persons held hostages by the Boko Haram terrorists.
“While advancing towards their objective in Ngoshe, the patrol team encountered Boko Haram terrorists”.
“They had to clear the delayed positions staged by the terrorists through the support of the Nigeria Air Force fighter jets.
“It is equally believed several others escaped with gunshot wounds.
“The troops were however able to recover quite a number of arms and ammunitions. These include 1 Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube, 4 RPG Bombs, 1 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), 1 Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle and 3 AK-47 rifles.
“Other items recovered include 1 Sub-Machine Gun(SMG), 1 Locally made Pistol, a locally made Double-Barrel gun, 1 Smoke Grenade, 243 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and 1 round of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition.
“They also recovered 18 rounds of MI16 rifle, 3 G3 Rifle magazines, 2 AK-47 magazines, 1 mobile telephone handset and a SIM card, as well as a pair of military desert camouflage uniform.
“Other items were an address card, 3 Boko Haram terrorist’s flags and a Toyota Hilux vehicle painted in desert camouflage colour and motorcycles.
“The troops did not find any hostage in Gava. However, they rescued 16 civilians held in Ngoshe prison, while many residents of the town saw it as an opportunity to flee from the town. Both the rescued and freed persons are being profiled by the troops.”
