The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said on Friday that troops eliminated 159 terrorists and arrested 174 others in the last week.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, made this known in an update on the operations of the armed forces in Abuja.
Mr. Buba, a major general, said troops also rescued 188 kidnapped hostages, arrested 45 oil thieves and recovered 151 assorted weapons and 12,401 assorted ammunition during the period.
He said the armed forces had taken decisive steps to end terrorism and insecurity in the country through ongoing operations.
According to him, the operations are yielding the desired results as troops are dismantling terrorist networks and decimating their leaders and fighters, and several of the terrorist leaders and commanders have been eliminated from the battlefield.
“Furthermore, troops have been strategically deployed to ensure that the off-cycle gubernatorial election scheduled for September 21 in Edo is violence-free, fair and credible.
“The role of the troops is to support the police in ensuring the safety of voters and thwarting the activities of those elements bent on fomenting crisis during the elections.
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“Our operations against terrorists and violent extremists continue to be aimed at providing security and stability to the nation and its citizens.
“Therefore, the troops will continue to work relentlessly to put an end to all forms of insecurity across the country,” he said.
In the northeast, Mr. Buba said troops of Operation Hadin Kai killed 46 terrorists, arrested 41 suspects, rescued 48 kidnapped hostages and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition.
He said a total of 76 terrorists, including nine adult men, 28 adult women and 39 children, surrendered to troops in the theatre of operations between September 11 and 17.
He added that the air component of Operation Hadin Kai carried out an air interdiction on a suspected ISWAP/JAS terrorist enclave in Southern Tumbun of Borno, killing several terrorists and destroying their logistics.
In the north-central region, Mr. Buba said troops from Operations Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke killed 15 violent extremists, arrested 18 violent extremists, and rescued 64 kidnapped hostages and recovered several weapons caches.
In the northwest, he said troops of Operation Hadarin Daji killed 73 terrorists, captured 23 terrorists and rescued 54 kidnapped hostages, besides recovering a large cache of weapons.
Mr. Buba added that the air component conducted aerial interdictions on terrorist kingpin Gambo’s enclave in Gusau Local Government Area and Bello Turji’s hideout in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara during the week.
He added that several terrorists were killed and their structures and logistics destroyed.
He said troops of Operation Whirl Punch killed 15 terrorists, arrested 27 suspects, rescued six kidnapped hostages and recovered a large cache of weapons.
In the Niger Delta, Mr. Buba said troops from Operation Delta Safe discovered and destroyed 71 illegal refining sites with nine pits, 35 ships, four speedboats, 32 drums and 57 storage tanks in the week.
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He added that troops also recovered 788,400 litres of stolen crude oil, 28,995 litres of illegally refined diesel, 300 litres of kerosene and 3,000 litres of petrol, as well as 20 cooking ovens, a pumping machine, 14 vehicles, a motorcycle, a tricycle and 10 mobile phones.
According to him, the troops killed two extremists, arrested 41 suspected oil thieves and other violent extremists and recovered two magazines, six assorted weapons and 189 assorted ammunition.
In the southeast, Mr. Buba said troops of Operation UDO KA killed eight extremists, nabbed 12 violent extremists, rescued 14 kidnapped hostages and recovered weapons and four vehicles.
“All recovered items, arrested suspects and rescued hostages have been handed over to the relevant authorities for appropriate action,” he said.
(YAYA)