Troops Decimate 2,245 Combatants, arrested 3,682 terrorist, rescued 1,993 kidnapped hostages in Q2 2024- DHQ
The Nigeria Military High Command has said that it’s troops have neutralized 2245 combatants, arrested 3,682 terrorists and rescued 1,993 kidnapped hostages in the second quarter(Q2) of 2024.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba disclosed this in his quarterly briefing with defence correspondents Thursday at Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
“In the course of operations, troops of across Joint Task Force Operations neutralized 2,245 combatants, arrested 3,682 terrorist/violent extremists and rescued 1,993 kidnapped hostages”, he said.
He also noted that troops recovered 1,169 AK47 rifles, 713 assorted arms, 36,273 rounds of 7.62mm special, 14,764 rounds of 7.62mm NATO and 9,850 assorted ammunition within the period under review.
He said the resolve of the armed forces is very clear and it is to destroy the terrorist and dismantle their military capabilities in order for citizens to be safe, adding that troops are actively fighting in different forms and retain operational flexibility which gives us the ability to respond to different events and to project forces according to strategic needs.
He posited that the military has greatly degraded the terrorist, even though they are still present in the theatres of operation, stressing that it would take time and effort to completely destroy these terrorists, particularly as counter insurgency is akin to a marathon not a sprint.
“It is safe to say that the terrorist have prioritised their military capability over everything else. This is because as our forces advance and clear areas in which these terrorist hibernate, we continue to recover weapons, explosives and IEDs which are indicative of the priorities of the terrorist. Nevertheless, we continue to wipe out the terrorist through synchronised ground and air operations”, he said.
He further said troops recovered 2,783 weapons, 64,547 ammunitions and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum over N10 bn (N10,533,131,470.00) only.
He noted that the breakdown for the period includes and is not limited to the following: 1,169 AK47 rifles, 36,273 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 14,764 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 713 assorted arms and 9,850 assorted ammo.
Others are 9,225,149 litres of stolen crude oil, 2,874,916 litres of illegally refined AGO, 29,900 litres of DPK and 31,380 litres of PMS amongst other item.
Major General Buba said “troops operations are continually assessed in order to make adjustments in our actions, thereby amending our operations to increasingly ensure we minimize civilian casualties. Our operations are progressing according to plan e en as we abide International laws governing armed conflict”.
He said the military will do everything within the bounds of the law to make our nation safe for citizens, stressing that the military will keep up with the fighting spirit and maintain the stamina in the front lines.
“Our pride is to risk our life’s, to safe the life’s of our citizens. This is what we do to secure our country”, General Buba said.
