The presence of Islamic States for West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the North-West was confirmed by the Defence Headquarters on Monday. Earlier than this time, the group had been inflicting havoc within the North-East.
Director Defence Information, Defence Headquarters, Main-Common Benjamin Sawyerr in a press release stated ISWAP assault on the Forward Operation Base (FOB) at Burkusuma in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State was repelled by Troops of Operation Hadarin Daji together with other security agencies.
He said the troop quickly repelled the unsuccessful attack, which occurred around 5:30 a.m. on September 26, 2021, in a rural border village with the Niger Republic.
“The aggressive actions of FOB forces, as seen in recent months in the North West region, have been a thorn in the flesh of ISWAP and bandits,” he claims. When the main troop were out performing offensive operations inside their area of responsibility, the attackers came in great numbers, utilizing a telecom network given by a neighbouring country, and took advantage of the weak rear area defence force.
“However, rapid reinforcement by own troop helped to counter the onslaught, as several ISWAP members were killed, while others retreated with various degrees of injuries, resulting in their chase to Bassira in the Niger Republic.
“Unfortunately, some level of casualty on the part of own forces was reported during the encounter.“ Meanwhile, Nigerian and Nigerien military are pursuing the remaining ISWAP fighters in a joint operation. The general security within the FOB and its environs has been stabilized.”
