Troops of 121 and 151 Battalions of Nigerian Army; Operation Tura Takaibango (OTT) have neutralized two Boko Haram commanders in the Pulka/Bama axis of Borno. The Commanders, who were on the watch list of the Army, include Abul-Bas and Ibn Habib, while crossing the Guja and Vuria settlements at the Bank junction along Gwoza/Bama road.
Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Yerima in a statement yesterday (Sunday) in Maiduguri disclosed that troops engaged the terrorists on February 9, 2021 at a crossing point of two settlements in the Pulka/Banki junction axis. “During the forest clearance operations, three insurgents were killed,” he said, noting that two of them were the most wanted terrorists’ Commanders of Abubakar Shekau.
According to him, the troops also recovered three general purpose machine guns (GPMGs), seven AK-47 rifles and a belt of ammunition containing 446 rounds of 7.62mm. He added that a motorcycle and mobile handset were also recovered in the forest’s clearance operations. On neutralized commanders, he said: “Abul-Bas was a top commander second to Abu Fatima while Ibn Habib was the BHT Commander in charge of Njimia and Parisu camps in Sambisa Forest.”
He said the neutralization of Abul-Bas and Ibn Habib has inflicted a big blow on the operations of the terrorists. He noted that it also boosted the morale of troops in the counter-terrorism operation in the forest. The Chief of Army Staff, Maj-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru has commended the troops for the feat and other successes recorded in the theatre of war. He therefore charged them to intensify the aggressive clearance operation in order to clear the Forest and its environs.
“All the remnants of terrorists and their collaborators should be cleared,” he said.
