Troops involved in the ongoing
counter-terrorism operation in the North-East have arrested a number of
terrorists who disguised as
women in Baga, Borno State.
Baga, the headquarters of the
Multi-National Joint Task Force, was captured by the insurgents in
January but was recaptured by the Special Forces on Saturday.
The Director of Defence Information,
Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, who stated this in a statement on Monday, did
not give the exact number of the terrorists arrested.
Olukolade had said in an earlier
statement on Sunday that troops were screening a group of people mostly
women in Baga to ascertain their true identities and to find out whether
they were supporters of the deadly sect or not.
The Defence spokesman said that the
troops had arrested many terrorists hiding in Baga apart from those
captured during the battle to liberate the town.
Olukolade, who also said that several
arms and bombs hidden at some locations within Baga had been recovered,
stated that those in custody were being interrogated.
He said, “The cordon and search in Baga has revealed some terrorists disguising as women.
“The searches are also yielding more discoveries of arms especially bombs hidden in various locations, especially Baga town.
“Apart from those captured in the course
of fighting, many terrorists hiding in the town are being arrested and
troops are still busy interrogating the suspects.
“In furtherance of the mission to clear
terrorists from all their enclaves by the military, the Nigerian Air
Force has stepped up its air bombardments of identified targets in
Gwoza, Bama and Sambisa forest, preparatory to other phases of the
mission.
“The air strikes have been highly
successful as they achieved the aims, hitting vital targets with
required precision. Terrorists are now in disarray as they scamper to
escape from the impact of air bombardment of their locations in the
forest.”
He said that the military was now
preoccupied with the consolidation of the liberated areas to pave the
way for the return of the residents after flushing out the terrorists
from Baga.
Source:Punch Newspaper.
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