…NAF jet bombs logistics base
…Germany supports Nigeria’s terror war
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Nigerian Army (NA) yesterday said its troops killed 19 Boko Haram terrorists, including a kingpin, Ameer of Dalore.
This came barely 24 hours after the army ambushed and killed seven members of the group during an early hours raid, while several of them escaped with gunshot injuries.
The army, in a statement by its spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, added that the troops also rescued 67 captives from the sect at a camp in Borno State. “Elements of 22 Brigade Garrison carried out clearing operation at Dalore camp on Sunday in which they killed 19 Boko Haram terrorists, among whom was Ameer of Dalore. The troops also captured two AK-47 rifles, one small machine gun and one hand grenade. They also recovered four pickup vehicles.”
He said during the operation, the troops’ Mine Resistant Anti-Personnel (MRAP) vehicle ran into an Improvised Explosive Device and had a damaged tyre. The freed hostages, according to him, were undergoing screening at Internally Displaced Persons in Dikwa.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force said its Alfa jet on operation in the North-East destroyed the logistic base of the terrorists group. The base, located at Allagarno, Yobe was said to have been targeted and destroyed after careful Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) by its Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV).
NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, who disclosed this, added that the operation was carried out in support of surface forces.
Famuyiwa, who described the destruction of the operational base as very successful said; “the target was possibly an ammunition depot, a fuel dump or a facility housing other combustible materials”.
He said the destruction would cripple logistics constraints for the terrorists along the Allagarno axis.
“This is a follow-up to other interdiction missions previously carried out in Sambisa Forest, Kumshe, Iza and other suspected terrorists’ hide-outs.
Germany yesterday declared support for Nigeria to curtail Boko Haram insurgents. A statement by the Nigerian Defence Headquarters quoted Dr. Ralf Brauksiepe, a German deputy Defenceminister as pledging his country’s total commitment to the Nigerian Armed Forces in their quest to defeat Boko Haram. According to a statement by the spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, Rabe Abubakar, Dr Brauksiepe disclosed this when he visited the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Abayomi Olonisakin, at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja to further boost German–Nigerian military bilateral relations.“In his welcome address, General Olonisakin solicited for more support from the German government in the area of provision of logistic support, intelligence gathering and technical assistance for the Multi-national Joint Task Force established to checkmate terrorists network in the West African sub-region. He said Nigerian military would no doubt continue to partner with German military on defence related matters to enhance the bilateral cooperation which has been in existence for over five decades.