Troops of 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade Nigerian Army, has rescued 998 Boko Haam captives from Ndufu, Muktu and Muzuri villages in Ngala, Borno State after engaging the terrorists in a fierce gun battle.

This was made known by the Nigerian Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, a Brigadier General, in a statement made available to Journalists late Friday.

Usman said the clearance operation followed confirmed information about the presence of some Boko Haram terrorists in the villages.

He added that the fighting patrol was carried out alongside some members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, JTF.

“The patrol team had a fierce encounter with the terrorists at Ndufu which they decisively dealt with before proceeding to clear Muktu and Muzuri, as well as nearby communities within the area,” Usman stated.

“Although some of terrorists fled to various directions on sighting the troops, the patrol team was able to neutralize 9 terrorists, destroyed their Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making factory and rescued 998 persons.

“Those rescued were 125 at Ndufu, 802 at Muktu and 71 persons at Muzuri.”

The army spokesman pointed out that despite the heat of the battle, all the children in the community under the age of 5 years were administered with polio vaccines by the soldiers.

“In addition, the troops recovered 1 AK-47 Rifle with registration number 565231515, an AK-47 Rifle Magazine, 2 Boko Haram terrorists flags, 4 Motorcycles, 2 Solar Panels, 2 already prepared IEDs, Detonating cords and other explosive making components,” he added.

Usman also noted that the troops that took part in the operation, the 3 Battalion, “has maintained its status as one of the best fighting unit in the theatre as they did not sustain any casualty or injury during the operation.”