Troops kill 14 insurgents, rescue 30 – Army

By Musa Umar Bologi

Abuja

The Nigerian Army has said its troops attached to Operati on Lafiya Dole under the army’s 202 Battalion, 21 Brigade, in conjunction with the Mobile Strike Team (MST) killed 14 terrorists and rescued 30 hostages on Saturday.
The operation ended with the rescue of the hostages from Boko Haram terrorist’s enclaves in Abusuriwa, Newchina, Bonzon, Usmanari, Goyayeri, Shitimari, Gashimari, Awaram, amongst other villages in Bama local government area of Borno state.
According to a statement issued yesterday by the Director Army Public Relations, Sani Usman, it said the operation led to the capture of one suspected terrorist, while many fled.
It read in part: “The troops whose continuous resolve in routing out the remnants of the suspected terrorists hibernating within the Brigade’s Area of Responsibility ensured that their superior fire power made the terrorists to flee in disarray leading to the capture of one suspected terrorist while 8 of the Boko Haram terrorists were neutralised.
“In addition, the troops also rescued three men, 12 women as well as 15 children, among whom were an aged man and a woman held captive by the Boko Haram terrorists.
“The suspected terrorist has been handed over to the relevant authorities for further interrogation, while the rescued civilian captives are being attended to.”
Usman, a brigadier-general, said the troops were also able to recover four AK-47 rifles, three magazines, seven Dane guns and machetes, amongst other items.
The statement also noted that in similar operation, troops of 152 Battalion of the Brigade ambushed some fleeing terrorists and killed five of them, while troops of 151 Battalion also deployed at the Forward Operations Base, Darel Jamel, killed a terrorist in an ambush.
Fire razes 50 shops in Calabar market
Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has confirmed the destruction of over 50 shops after Monday’s fire incident at the Yoruba section of Watt market in Calabar.
SEMA’s Director-General, John Inaku, who disclosed this after an assessment visit to the area yesterday, said the cause of the fire was still unknown.
“Up till now, the cause of the fire is still unknown; over 50 shops were affected during the tragic incident. I am here on the directives of the state government to ascertain the cause of the outbreak and to report back so that something can be done to alleviate the plights of the victims.
“If you take a critical look at the shops, they are closely located. This makes it easy for the fire to spread quickly from one shop to another. My advice to shop owners is that they should always put off their appliances after close of business; this would go a long way to prevent disasters like this,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the fire affected mostly electrical, provision, jewellery and book shops in the market.
NAN further reports that no casualty was recorded because of the outbreak.

Leave a Reply