THE acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, on Sunday, announced the death of three soldiers while combating the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.
The army acting spokesperson said the incident happened as troops of Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole engaged members of the insurgents, stressing that some of the insurgents were also well killed.
“Sadly, during the encounter, three of our gallant soldiers paid the supreme price while eight other soldiers sustained injuries,” said Musa.
“The bodies of the fallen heroes and those that sustained injuries have since been evacuated. The wounded are being treated and are in stable condition”.
In a statement of confirmation to ChannelsTV, Musa explained that the troops attached to Super Camp Monguno attacked the terrorist members, Friday while on patrol along Monguno-Mairari-Gajiram axis in the state.
He stated that the patrol team got in contact with the terrorists group and engaged them with heavy fire weapon which reportedly led to the death of “countless number” of the insurgents fighters.
According to the army acting spokesperson, some weapons and military equipment were recovered from the Boko Haram members. He said few insurgents also escaped with gunshot wounds, as a result of blood trails in the general area.
He restated commitments of the military to win the battles. Musa said the troops are still combing the general area with a view to clearing remnants of the fleeing terrorists.
He concluded that Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, the Army Chief of Staff, along with some principal staff officers from the Army Headquarters, Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole and other commanders, have visited the troops and those wounded in action.
The Federal Government though claimed to have technically won the battle against the insurgents, the Nigerian military also has recorded several casualties.
But information about some of the slain soldiers are kept secret.
For instance, on 17th July, 2018 62 soldiers were reportedly killed at Jilli, a military base in Geidam Local Government Area of Borno State.
On 23rd July 2018, another set of eight soldiers were ambushed and killed in a military convoy in Yobe state.
Olugbenga heads the Investigations Desk at The ICIR. Do you have a scoop? Shoot him an email at [email protected]. Twitter Handle: @OluAdanikin