By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Defence Headquarters has revealed how the Nigeria’s Army lost 22 of its men at the battle field during an ongoing military operation in the Timbuktu Triangle, a notorious terrorist stronghold in Borno State.
The military, however, said more than 70 insurgents were killed during same operation.
The operation, conducted by troops of Operation Hadin Kai, according to the DHQ, began on January 16, 2025, and has focused on dismantling terrorist enclaves in the region.
In a statement on Sunday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, revealed that the operation has resulted in several encounters with insurgents.
Buba added that among the insurgents killed were three high-ranking commanders: the Terrorist Special Forces Commander, Talha; the Operations Commander, Mallam Umar; and the Brigade Commander, Abu Yazeed.
He said, “Troops of Operation HADIN KAI in the Northeast of the country conducted a clearance operation to a renowned terrorist stronghold and enclave known as the Timbuktu Triangle. The three-prong operation aimed at dismantling the terrorist presence within the triangle commenced on 16 Jan 25 till date.
“Troops recorded several encounters with terrorists during the course of the clearance operations, which resulted in over 70 terrorist combatants, including three notable terrorist commanders, neutralised. The terrorist commanders neutralised include and are not limited to the following: TALHA (Terrorist Special Forces Commander), Mallam UMAR (Terrorist Operations commander) and ABU YAZEED (Terrorist Brigade Commander). “
Buba said during the operations, the terrorists employed various lethal tactics, including the use of Improvised Explosive Devices, suicide bombers, and drones.
However, he said troops successfully repelled these attempts, demonstrating tactical superiority.
Buba said, “Meanwhile, during the operations, the terrorist deployed Improvised Explosive Devices, Person Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers) as well as Vehicle Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (suicide bombers in explosive vehicles) to ward off troops advance and attacks.
“Troops already familiar with the terrorist tactics thwarted several terrorist attempts, including shooting down the amateur drones used by the terrorist.”
Buba, while acknowledging the loss of 22 soldiers, appealed for restraint from the media in publishing the names of fallen troops to allow formal notification of their families.
He said, “Overall, during the course of the operations, troops sadly recorded 22 killed in action casualties with several others wounded in action. On this account, the media is enjoined to resist publishing names of troop casualties to allow the formal notification of their next of kin.“
