Troops backed by the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole, at the weekend, overran some terrorist camps in the North-east, killing over 60 insurgents. Coming after a recent visit to Borno State by the new service chiefs, the soldiers might have been buoyed by the visit.

The battle with the insurgents, however, triggered an exodus of refugees from four local government areas of Borno into Yobe State.

Nigerian troops, backed by jets, took control of several camps of ISIS-linked jihadists, with two senior commanders escaping after several other ranking militants were killed, two military sources told AFP.

The troops overran Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) camps in an area straddling Yobe and Borno states in the North-east after a month-long military operation, the sources said.

The operations were on-going when President Muhammadu Buhari replaced his four top military commanders after months of pressure over his government’s failure to end the over a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the country.

On Wednesday, soldiers overran Dole camp, the last jihadist stronghold in the so-called “Timbuktu triangle”, the two military officers said.

“With the fall of Dole, the whole area is now under the effective control of Nigerian troops,” said one of the officers.

The jihadists have been in control of the area since 2013, when they seized it and established a strong presence especially, in the Talala area, which became the second largest ISWAP camp outside the group’s Lake Chad stronghold.

Last month, troops took over Talala after a fierce battle in which six soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber, who detonated his explosive-laden vehicle among troops, military sources told AFP.

“It was a tough battle,” said the second source on the Dole raid, noting, “The route leading to Dole was mined by the terrorists and troops accessed it on foot, engaging the terrorists in fierce battle with air support.”

Several hostages were rescued from the camps while dozens of vehicles seized from kidnapped hostages were recovered, the sources said.

Two high profile ISWAP commanders, Modu Sulum and Ameer Modu Borzogo, fled along with some fighters during intense fighting while other commanders were killed, said the second source.

Escaping fighters were believed to have fled to Lake Chad, which straddles Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, where the group maintains camps on the islands dotting the freshwater lake, said the two military officers.

In another front, troops reclaimed five camps from the jihadists in Kidari, Argude, Takwala, Chowalta and Galdekore villages, where the jihadists used suicide bombers to try to stave off troops advance.

“We lost some soldiers and several were injured in the suicide attack but the soldiers managed to subdue the terrorists,” said the second source, without giving details of the casualties.

Meanwhile, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Faruk Yahaya, urged Nigerian troops to sustain the military offensive against Boko Haram fighters, in the North-east.

Visiting the troops after they killed no fewer than 60 Boko Haram terrorists in a weeklong operation codenamed, Tura Takai Bango, Yahaya made the call during his operational tour of military formations to commend troops fighting in Bama axis, Pulka, thrusting into deep Boko Haram and ISWAP camps and enclaves in Sambisa Forest.

In recent weeks, the troops had crushed terrorists, who attempted to invade Gamboru Ngala and also stormed “Timbuktu Triangle”, a notorious enclave of Boko Haram in the heart of Sambisa Forest.

The visit of the commander came on the heels of the visit of the new service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Lucky Irabor. They had visited the theatres of war, military formations and commanders and were briefed on the state of affairs in the general area. (THISDAY)

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