By Rabiu Sani
Maiduguri – The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said its troops had rescued 46 captives and destroyed a highly fortified Boko Haram insurgents’ camp deep inside Sambisa forest as part of its ongoing “clearance operation” .
Col. Onyeama Nwachukwu, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, “Operation Lafiya Dole”, disclosed this in a statement issued in Maiduguri.
Nwachukwu said that the troops under Operation Deep Punch II penetrated deep into the forest and cleared all known insurgents’ enclaves including a fortified ‘Sabil Huda’ camp.
He said that the troops neutralised several insurgents, destroyed various makeshift accommodation and recovered high calibre ammunition.
“On Monday Feb.12, 2018 the troops dislodged Boko Haram terrorists from one of their highly fortified hideouts around S-Shape part of the Sambisa forest close to Sabil Huda, believed to be one of their prized hideouts.
“During the fierce offensive supported by Nigerian Air Force, the resilient troops neutralised quite a number of Boko Haram terrorists and captured major armaments including two Spartan Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), one truck and one laptop computer belonging to the insurgents.
“The gallant troops also destroyed 8 gun trucks; several tents, rescued 19 women and 27 children from the enclave”.