17 killed, many wounded as Troops crush Boko Haram ambush

At least 17 Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters were killed and several others wounded after an encounter with Nigerian troops in Borno State.

The skirmish broke out when troops of 25 Task Force Brigade deployed at Damboa in conjunction with elements of Sector 2 Special Forces ran into the terrorists’ ambush along Damboa -Maiduguri Road in Borno State.

This was disclosed Wednesday by John Enenche, Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), who said 17 terrorists were killed in the attack.

“Instinctively, the valiant troops outflanked and engaged the criminals with an overwhelming volume of firepower forcing them to withdraw in disarray.

“In the aftermath of the encounter, 17 Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province criminals were neutralized as several others were believed to have narrowly escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds while a cache of arms and ammunition were equally captured by the gallant troops.

“Regrettably, 2 valiant soldiers paid the supreme price while 4 others were wounded in action. However, the wounded in action soldiers have been evacuated to a military medical facility and currently responding positively to treatment”, he said.

Enenche further informed that the Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole has been directed to immediately deploy a Special Forces Battalion to reinforce and dominate Damboa – Bulabulin – Maiduguri axis to completely deny the terrorists any chance of escape during the final assault against the criminals.

Also, Enenche said that the troops of Sector 3 and Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Lafiya Dole have killed several terrorists who attempted to breach Gubio Town in the Northern part of Borno State.