The military intervened in a mass burial ceremony that had been planned by Boko Haram sect leaders for several of their fighters who had died earlier this month.
As you may recall, during a tremendous onslaught by the Troops of Operation Hadin Kai, approximately 200 Boko Haram terrorists and five of the sect’s senior commanders were murdered on the outskirts of Sambisa Forest in Borno State (OPHK).
About 70 Boko Haram fighters also drowned while trying to escape in Shehuri, a Borno community.
The Intelligence-Led Aerial And Ground Coordinated Operation Launched On September 1, 2022, Involved the Air Task Force, Troops Of 199 Special Forces Battalion And 222 Battalion, Operation Hadin Kai, targeted terrorists hideouts in Gaizuwa, Gabchari, Sheruri, Mantari and Mallum Masari, villages located in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.
An early damage assessment confirmed the successful operation resulted in the elimination of high-ranking commanders, including Abou Hauwa, (Munzir) Amir Shettima, Akura Buri(Nakif), Abou Zainab, and Abou Idris, according to a report in the Daily Trust by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad.
ALSO READ: BANDITS’ GIRLFRIENDS AND INFORMANTS ARRESTED IN KADUNA
The publication was also told by sources that during the raid, ground troops raided a terrorist hideaway in Gafchari. There, they engaged the terrorists in a gun battle, killing over 30 combatants while wounding others who managed to flee.
They continued by saying that the ATF had assigned two Super Tucano jets to undertake air interdiction missions against the insurgents in another coordination with the ground forces, which led to the neutralisation of further fighters.
A source said the Super Tucano scored devastating hits, killing two terrorist Commanders; Akura Buri (Nakif) and Abou Hauwa; with more than 63 of their fighters and foot soldiers.
He said;
“Similar strikes were also undertaken at Sheruri when the combat aircraft attacked another location of fighters deployed to stage an ambush against ground troops.
“In another encounter with the terrorists during the robust fighting patrol, the troops succeeded in eliminating another scores of insurgents in the axis of Mantari after a gun battle which lasted for about two and half hour.
“In Gazuwa, the troops destroyed two vehicles and the home of Abou Iklilima which used to be a hideout to insurgent Leaders. Other makeshift tent and properties belonging to terrorists were also destroyed.”
According to reports, only a small number of the terrorists who managed to flee the military operations on September 2 went back to retrieve the bodies of their fallen fighters in Sheruri and Gabchari.
They were able to recover more than 30 among the fighters who drowned in the river in Gabchari. However they were attacked by the military while preparing for the mass burial.
The source added;
“Additional 9 bodies who died as a result of bullet wounds were recovered around the bushes in Gaizuwa, among them were two Boko Haram Commanders including; Abou Zainab, Abou Idris.
“While they were making preparations to conduct mass burial for their Mujahedeens, the military authorities acting on the intelligence, deployed the Super Tucano to the location, killing unspecified numbers of them.”
The aftermath of the airstrike revealed that pandemonium broke out as the remnant of surviving terrorists took cover under nearby trees and later fled.
The source added;
“The week-long sustained operations that were carried out simultaneously in different locations within the North East Theartre of Sambisa Forest by the troops of Operation Hadin Kai, has completely degraded the capabilities of the insurgents.”
