Troops of the Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, have killed two terrorists and intercepted a suspected explosives courier in Zamfara State.
The operations, carried out on Friday, were part of intensified military efforts to dismantle terrorist formations and disrupt their supply networks across the North-West.
During a clearance operation around Garin Kaso in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area, troops from Sector 2 encountered a group of terrorists, leading to a fierce exchange of gunfire.
Two of the terrorists were killed in the confrontation, while the troops recovered two rifles, two magazines, nine rounds of ammunition and two motorcycles.
The terrorists later attempted to ambush the troops from concealed positions, but the soldiers successfully repelled the attack, inflicting additional casualties and forcing the surviving fighters to retreat.
The Media Information Officer of the JTF North West, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, said the number of casualties recorded by the terrorists during the second encounter could not immediately be ascertained.
“Reports from communities within the general area indicated that several terrorists with apparent gunshot wounds, as well as bodies of their neutralised colleagues, were evacuated by the fleeing elements following the encounter,” he said.
In another operation conducted the same day, troops carrying out routine snap checks on vehicles arrested a suspected arms and explosives courier identified as 57-year-old Sani Umar.
A search of the vehicle allegedly led to the discovery of 180 units of 20mm Super Power explosives.
According to the military, the explosives were being conveyed from Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State to suspected terrorist operatives in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The suspect, his vehicle and the recovered explosives have been handed over for further investigation.
The task force said the operations were aimed at simultaneously attacking terrorist hideouts and cutting off the supply channels through which weapons, explosives and other materials reach the criminal groups.
The Theatre Command also reiterated its determination to maintain sustained offensive operations and restrict the activities of terrorists and other criminal elements across the North-West.
