Military Increasingly Making Progress In War Against Terrorism – DHQ
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says the military is increasingly making progress in the ongoing war against terrorism and other forms of insecurity across the operational theatres in the country.
Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in which he gave details of ongoing military operations across various theatres of operation as at July 5 2024.
The Director disclosed that
during the week under review, troops neutralised 177 terrorists and arrested 263 persons. They also arrested 41 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 158 kidnapped hostages.
In the Southsouth, troops denied the oil theft of an estimated sum of Five Hundred and One Million Eighty Nine Thousand Four Hundred Naira (N501,089,400.00) only.
They recovered 170 assorted weapons and 4,692 assorted ammunition, the breakdown of which are as follows: 6 PKT guns, 63 AK-47 rifles, 3 FN rifles, 1 SMG rifle, 29 locally fabricated guns, 37 dane guns and 20 pump action guns, 1 short double barrel gun, 2 double barrel guns, 2 single barrel guns, one locally made single barrel, 6 locally fabricated pistols, 4 bandoliers, RPG bombs, RPG charger, 2 primed IEDs and materials.
Others are: 2,100 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,239 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 419 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 212 rounds of 5.56 x 54mm ammo, 722 live cartridges, 13 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo, 74 AK47 magazines, 2 FN magazines, 6 baofeng radios, 17 vehicles, 43 motorcycles, 31 mobile phones and the sum of N2,149,700.00 only amongst other items.
In the Niger Delta area, troops discovered and destroyed 20 dugout pits, 32 boats and 32 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 58 cooking ovens, 17 vehicles, one pumping machine, 5 mobile phones and 49 illegal refining sites. They recovered 1,007,115 litres of stolen crude oil and 141,664 litres of illegally refined AGO.
Offensive operations, ambushes and fighting patrols by troops of Operation HADIN KAI, led to the surrendering of 506 Boko Haram/ISWAP/JAS terrorist fighters and their families, comprising 66 adult males 157 adult females and 283.
Buba disclosed that other operational theatres also recorded significant success through their various operations as troops are taking the fight to the terrorist and making significant strides each passing day.
“Much is being done, however we are focussed on doing much more to address the security situation and safeguard citizens”, he said.
