Nigerian troops have killed eight Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in separate clashes in Borno State and recovered heavy weapons, including rocket propelled grenades, rifles and an armed drone.
The Joint Task Force North East, Operation Hadin Kai, said the engagements took place around Forward Operating Base Mayanti, Gajigana and Gajiram during recent attempts by terrorists to attack military positions.
At Mayanti, troops came under a heavy night attack by a large number of fighters but held their ground until reinforcements arrived, forcing the insurgents to flee after suffering casualties.
An exploitation of the area after the battle confirmed five terrorist bodies and led to the recovery of three PKT anti aircraft guns, two RPG 7 tubes, four AK 47 rifles, two FN rifles, RPG bombs and large quantities of ammunition.
In a separate encounter near Gajigana and Gajiram, troops repelled another assault and later recovered three more terrorist corpses, four AK 47 rifles, five anti tank bombs, three locally made mortar bombs, an armed drone and other items abandoned in haste.
The army said one officer was killed in the Mayanti attack and another soldier wounded in the Gajigana axis, but stressed that all affected locations remain firmly under military control.
Military authorities added that the scale of weapons seized and confirmed enemy losses show that the combat capacity of terrorist cells in the area is being steadily degraded.
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