Army praises troops in North East, explains error killing of 7 soldiers
By Mutiu Akanni
The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru has applauded troops of Operation Lafiya Dole for their resilience, commitment and doggedness. He reassured Nigerians of the Army’s unalloyed commitment to defeating Boko Haram/SWAP terrorists while urging citizens to always avail the troops with accurate and timely information for prompt action.
Attahiru has applauded troops of Operation Lafiya Dole for their resilience in the campaign against terrorists in the North East
In a statement made available to Irohinoodua on Monday, Brigadier General Mohammed of the Army Public Relations also explained the reported friendly fire that led to the death of some of its officers.
He said last Sunday troops of Operation Lafiya Dole deployed in Mainok, Borno State, came under multi-directional attacks by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists who mounted on unconfirmed number of Gun Trucks as well as foot soldiers with possible intent of establishing a phantom caliphate in the town.
The army said the terrorists were held by the gallant troops of 156 Task Force Battalion until the arrival of reinforcement teams from 7 Division, Special Army Super Camp Ngamdu and Army Super Camp 4, Benesheik.
“During the fire fight which lasted several hours, the gallant troops tactically lured a number of the terrorists into a killing zone within their camp where the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole scrambled Alpha jets and helicopter gunship which took turns in decimating the already trapped terrorists. In the aftermath of the encounter, scores of Boko Haram terrorists were neutralized with their body part littering the area and a number of their gun trucks destroyed” he said
According to him, regrettably, one gallant Officer and six soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice while five other soldiers sustained various degrees of injuries.
He said the wounded soldiers have already been evacuated to the military medical facility for treatment.
He said currently, troops are in full control of Mainok and environ as exploitation for fleeing terrorists is ongoing.
