Abuja, May 23 (IANS) Nigeria’s military on Saturday claimed scores of terrorists were killed in an operation carried out by troops in the northeastern state of Borno, where intensive efforts to rout the Boko Haram is currently going on.
A statement by the defence headquarters said despite continuously coming across a large number of land mines which still litter the Sambisa forest, one of the major camps and training ground of Boko Haram, troops still forged ahead with the operations on Friday, seizing several weapons and equipment of the terrorists after the encounter.
“A total of 20 women and children were rescued at the end of the Friday operation. They have all been airlifted out of the forest,” said the statement signed by defence spokesman Chris Olukolade.
However, more than 10 soldiers were wounded, while one died, following explosions of land mines along the routes of advance, the defence statement said.
Some equipment were also damaged or affected by the detonation of land mines in several points in the forest, it said.
Along with four additional terror camps that were smashed in the operation of Friday, two major ammunition dumps maintained by the terrorists in the forest were also destroyed, added the defence statement.
An armoured tank and over 10 vehicles of various types being used for their operations, as well as 70 motorcycles and 15 tricycles of the terrorists were also destroyed during the operation.
In another development, cordon and search around Bitta area of Borno have been intensified by government forces, following an incident in which two young boys were wounded after picking up a grenade from a refuse dump, defence authorities said. The weapon is believed to have been abandoned by terrorists who had fled the town which is not too far from Sambisa forest.
Nigerian forces have recently been carrying out aggressive patrols and surveillance by land and air in Borno state and the entire northeast region where the Boko Haram launched more deadly attacks since 2009.