Nigeria’s military authorities claim troops killed three ISWAP commanders, 43 others in North

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) claimed on Friday the air component of Operation Hadin Kai killed three top commanders of the Islamic States of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Borno State last week.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Baba, stated this in the weekly report of the operations of the armed forces on Friday in Abuja.

He said the commanders identified as Abou Maimuna, Abou Zahra and Commander Saleh with their lieutenants in a canoe, were killed by air strikes on January 10.

The spokesman said the troops during the week killed 43 other terrorists, arrested 73 and rescued 27 hostages.

He added that the troops recovered 81 assorted weapons and 2,150 ammunition as well as N1.2 million amongst other items.

Buba said: “In the South-South region, the troops of Operation Delta Safe apprehended 29 perpetrators of oil theft and denied oil thieves the estimated sum of N131.1 million during the week.

READ ALSO: Troops rescue two of three aid workers abducted by ISWAP terrorists 

“The troops discovered and destroyed seven dugout pits, 13 boats, 23 storage tanks, two barges, four vehicles, 15 cooking ovens, two pump machines and 16 illegal refining sites.

“They also recovered 139,045 litres of stolen crude oil, 25,115 litres of illegally refined AGO and 5,200 litres of DPK.

“The armed forces will always be mindful of the threat of kidnapping gangs and terrorists across the country.

“Accordingly, we will continually review our internal processes to deal with these threats both now and in the long term.

“The military is determined to give the situation the seriousness it deserves to create a safer environment for citizens.”

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