Nigerian troops clear 4 more villages held by Boko Haram

The Nigerian troops on offensive against Boko Haram terrorists in Sambisa forest continued to record more successes over the weekend, the army has said, a spokesperson for the army has said.

Troops from 21 Brigade, 7 Division, on Sunday, successfully cleared four more villages – Bala Karege, Goske, Harda, and Markas 3 – which were previously under the control of Boko Haram, the acting Director Army Public Relations, Sani Usman, said in a statement on Monday.

Mr. Usman, a colonel, said there was no resistance from the terrorists, as they abandoned their huts and fled.

Mr. Usman said the troops however ran into an ambush at Harda village, while they were advancing, but that they were quick to overcome it without any casualty, and proceeded with the operations.

Suicide vests, a number of high calibre weapons, including one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Bomb, 18 rounds of 23mm Shilka ammunition, and one Barrel of AK-47 rifle were recovered.

Other weapons recovered were one extra-barrel of General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), three AK-47 rifle magazines, metal link of 12.7mm ammunition and a heavy-duty solar panel battery.

The troops also recovered 10 vehicles and 50 motorcycles belonging to the fleeing terrorists.

Also, the army said eight Boko Haram fighters were killed, when the terrorist group took advantage of a heavy downpour, and attempted to sneak on the troops in Sambisa forest.

Two vehicles were recovered from the terrorists during the incident, it said.