The Nigerian Army on Thurdaysaid its troops, deployed for the counter-insurgency in the troubled North-east, killed 49 Boko Haram insurgents within the last one week in a series of assaults in Borno State.
Also during the same period, the army said 150 persons who were being held by the insurgents as human shields in confrontation with them were rescued.
It also revealed that several arms, ammunition and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered in the battle with the insurgents.
Addressing a press conference in Maiduguri, the Theatre Commander of the military counter-insurgency operation in the North-east, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Yusha’u Abubakar, said the operation was carried out in various hideouts of the Islamists in the Bama-Fulka and Alagarno axis of Borno.
He said: “It is important to announce that our gallant troops conducted various operations along Bama-Fulka and Alagarno areas of Borno State, which yielded fruitful results in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram elements.
“During the episode, the troops had an encounter with some terrorists, who suffered serious casualties.
“In the Alagarno axis, 15 insurgents were gunned down, while 34 others were killed along Bama-Fulka Road. The troops have also rescued 150 people, mostly old men and women, as well as children.
“The captives who were abducted from their homes by the terrorists, were being held as human shields.”
He added that recent successes recorded by the troops followed the serious setback suffered by the terrorists after losing their major enclaves.
“Let me make it clear that Boko Haram has been degraded and weakened by the military after a series of assaults, and the morale of our troops has been very high.
“Nigerians are very impressed by the performance of the task force in recent times. The military has no time to waste but to crush the remnants of the terrorists and move forward,” Abubakar said.
Abubakar however regretted that a convoy of fleeing Boko Haram insurgents ambushed a convoy of military vehicles along Maiduguri-Bama Road on Tuesday, killing an officer and soldier.
