Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have successfully eliminated more than 70 terrorists, including three key commanders, in an ongoing clearance operation in the Timbuktu Triangle, a notorious stronghold in northeastern Nigeria. This was disclosed by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, in a statement on Sunday.
The operation, which commenced on January 16, aims to dismantle the terrorist presence in the region. General Buba revealed that troops encountered heavy resistance but managed to neutralise top terrorist leaders, including TALHA, a special forces commander; Mallam Umar, the operations commander; and Abu Yazeed, a brigade commander.
During the operation, the terrorists deployed improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide bombers, and vehicles laden with explosives in a bid to repel advancing troops. However, the military successfully thwarted these attempts, even shooting down amateur drones used for surveillance by the insurgents.
“Troops already familiar with the terrorist tactics thwarted several terrorist attempts, including shooting down the amateur drones used by the terrorist,” said General Buba.
Despite the success, the military suffered significant casualties, with 22 soldiers killed and several others wounded. General Buba urged media outlets to refrain from publishing the names of the fallen soldiers until their next of kin have been formally notified.
