Army troops of Operation Fire Ball which is a subsidiary operation under Operation Lafiya Dole have killed 75 fighters of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) between the period of September 28 to October 31, 2020.
This number of neutralized terrorists was given on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 during a press briefing by the Acting Director of Defence Media Operations, Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko. It was however added that one officer and 2 gallant soldiers regretably paid the supreme price during the period under review. General Onyeuko also briefed that four other soldiers were wounded in action over the period. He also explained that the wounded soldiers have since been evacuated to a military medical facility where they are currently responding to treatment.
According to General Onyeuko,
equipment captured from the terrorists and destroyed by the troops include 4 gun trucks, 1 Bedford truck and 3 anti aircraft guns. Moreso, weapons captured from the criminal element by the troops also include 6 gun trucks, 4 anti aircraft guns, 1 PKT gun, 4 general purpose machine guns and 1 automatic grenade launcher. Others also include 1 dushka gun, 1 light machine gun, 48 AK 47 rifles, 1 locally made pistol and 10 AK 47 magazines. In addition, the troops also captured large cache of arms from the terrorists which include
36 hand grenade, 567 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 448 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, 50 rocket propelled grenade bombs and 17 locally manufactured rounds. Others include 3 shells for making improvised explosive device, 1 smoke grenade, 2 belts of PKT rounds and other assorted non lethal items.
Meanwhile, the aggressive clearance operations, ambushes, robust day and night patrols carried out by the troops within the period under review to decimate the remnants of Boko Haram and ISWAP have been well commended.
Similarly, the troops of Operation Fire Ball under Operation Lafiya Dole have likewise been commended for their resilience, doggedness and commitment exhibited since the beginning of the operation. They have however been
encouraged not to rest on their oars, but continue to build on the successes recorded so far.
Moreover, the entire people of the North East region have been assured of the firm determination of Nigerian military high command
to rout the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists and ISWAP criminals from their enclaves within the zone.