The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said its air component of Operation Hadin Kai, on Jan. 10, eliminated three top commanders of the Islamic States of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in Borno.

The director, defence media operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Baba, gave the assurance in the weekly report of the operations of the armed forces on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Buba said the three commanders, identified as Abou Maimuna, Abou Zahra and Commander Saleh, with their lieutenants in a canoe, were targeted and destroyed by the air strikes.

He said troops had, during the week, in other operations, neutralised 43 other terrorists, with 76 of them apprehended and rescued 27 kidnapped hostages.

He added that the troops recovered 81 assorted weapons, 2,150 assorted ammunition, and the sum of N1.2 million, amongst other items.

In the South-South region, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation Delta Safe apprehended 29 perpetrators of oil theft and denied oil thieves the estimated sum of N131.1 million during the week.

He said the troops discovered and destroyed seven dugout pits, 13 boats, 23 storage tanks, two barges, four vehicles, 15 cooking ovens, two pump machines and 16 illegal refining sites.

According to him, troops recovered 139,045 litres of stolen crude oil, 25,115 litres of illegally refined AGO and 5,200 litres of DPK.

“The armed forces will always be mindful of the threat of kidnapping gangs and terrorists across the country.

“Accordingly, we will continually review our internal processes in order to deal with these threats both now and in the long term.

“The military is determined to give the situation the seriousness it deserves so as to create a safer environment for citizens,” he said.

(NAN)