Troops of the Joint Task Force Operation Hadin Kai on Sunday prevented a planned suicide attack in Borno State after neutralising three suspected suicide bombers, the theatre command said.
In a statement, the JTF (North East) Media Information Officer, Lt. Col. Uba Sani, said the operation was the result of covert intelligence work by military personnel working alongside local volunteer forces.
The operatives tracked the cell and engaged the bombers before they could strike civilian targets.
Security personnel recovered suicide vests and other improvised explosive device (IED) components at the scene, the statement added.
Troops also inflicted significant casualties on the fighters escorting the bombers, forcing the remaining militants to flee into the Mandara Mountains under sustained pressure from the operatives.
Four AK-47 rifles abandoned by the attackers were recovered, and two motorcycles used in the operation were destroyed.
Preliminary intelligence reportedly links the neutralised bombers to the Ali Ngulde-led Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction operating from the Mandara mountain area.
TThe JTF said efforts to mop up residual threats and gather further intelligence are ongoing.