At least 10 suspected Boko Haram members died on Wednesday when troops of the Special Forces Brigade in Borno state engaged the insurgents in a gun battle at Sassaawa village, a community in the Marte Local Government Area.
SaharaReporters gathered that the raid was part of the ongoing second phase of operation Tura Takaibango.
The troops also recovered weapons, including AK-47 rifles, mortar tubes, and a machine gun, a military source said.
“The clearance onslaught was based on the directives given by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Ibrahim Attahiru when he visited the Theatre of Operation LAFIYA DOLE. During his operational visit recently to Dikwa, the COAS issued directives to troops to advance and recapture Marte and thereafter project further to clear other adjoining villages which include Sassawa, Chikun Gudu, Kerenoa, and environs.
“Following the directive, the gallant troops moved in, achieved the objective, and projected ahead. In the course of the clearance operation, troops encountered heavy fleets of the terrorists, engaged and ultimately obliterated them. In the encounter, 10 members of the sect were killed,” the source said.
The incident comes barely two days after the troops killed about 25 insurgents in Chikun Gudu and Kerenoa areas of the state.
Two soldiers however lost their lives while seven others sustained injuries during the attack.
Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands and displaced millions in North-Eastern Nigeria.
Nigerian army has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency has been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.
In the past months, soldiers have been targeted by the insurgents, laying in ambush on their path.
The Boko Haram insurgency has caused over 40,000 deaths and displaced millions of individuals mainly in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
