Defence Headquarters, on Wednesday, said contrary to reports, Boko Haram suffered more casualties in the encounter with troops in Sabon Gari Area in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State in which 34 insurgents were killed.
The media on Tuesday reported that the insurgents stormed the Forward Operating Base in Sabon Gari, killing scores of soldiers and vigilantes as well as wounding others.
It was also reported that the terrorists used drones to survey the base before launching the attack against the military.
Giving insight to the gun battle, Director, Defence Media Operations, Major-General, Edward Buba, said six soldiers were killed in the process, adding that most of the bodies recovered were those of the insurgents.
Buba said the air component of Operation HADIN KAI which conducted air interdiction, killed the terrorists, adding that the Battle Damage Assessment revealed that several terrorists were killed while their weapons were recovered.
Although the Vigilante Commander got injured when he stepped on Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Buba said the soldiers quickly responded and saved the day.
“On 4 January 2025, an unspecified number of ISWAP/BHT terrorists riding on motorcycles and gun trucks engaged troops deployed in Sabon Gari Village of Damboa LGA of Borno State in a fire fight.
“The terrorists had attempted to surprise troops and retaliate for the recent killing of their commander and combatants by troops. The terrorists were taken unaware, when troops fighting patrol returning to the Base foiled their planned attack as soon as the attack commenced.
“Additionally, a troop reinforcement team composed of elements of Civilian Joint Taskforce, vigilante as well as hybrid forces timely arrived at the scene to overpower the terrorists.
“Furthermore, though troops reinforcement team encountered Improvise Explosive Device injuring the Vigilante Commander. The reinforcement team arrived timely to decimate the fleeing terrorist.
“Furthermore, the air component of Operation HADIN KAI conducted air interdiction on the fleeing terrorists. Battle Damage Assessment revealed several killed terrorists and recovered weapons.
“On the whole, 34 terrorists were killed and 23 AK 47 weapons recovered. Troops also recovered with over 200 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunitions. Sadly, six personnel were killed in action.”
Buba urged media organisations and Nigerians to respect non-disclosure of the names of killed-in-action personnel to allow administrative procedures of notifying their Next of Kin.
