Nigerian troops under Operation Lafiya Dole have killed a top Boko Haram commander, Abu Usamah, and dozens of other terrorists during a gun battle with the insurgents in Gorgi, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.
The Defence Media Operations, being coordinated by the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, made the disclosure in a statement signed on Monday by its Director, Brig Gen Bernard Onyeuko.
The statement noted that a subsidiary operation, Ayiso Tamonuma, carried out the operations which had created a “consequential vacuum in the Boko Haram leadership”.
According to the statement, ammunition including two AK-47 rifles, two AK-47 rifle magazines, one Rocket Propelled Grenade bomb, 273 rounds of Anti-Aircraft Gun ammunition, 101 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and a Boko Haram terrorists’ were recovered after the operation.
“Own communication intercept confirmed by accurate intelligence revealed that a top Boko Haram Commander, Abu Usamah, was among those Boko Haram insurgents killed during the Gorgi encounter.
“He sustained gunshot wounds in the fire fight that ensued during the encounter before his foot soldiers hurriedly evacuated him and withdrew. Nevertheless, Abu Usamah died in the process.
“His death has no doubt created a consequential vacuum in the Boko Haram leadership particularly as the gallant troops remain resilient and continue to rout the criminal elements from their last enclaves in the North-East,” the military spokesman stated.
In another development, according to the statement, troops of 159 Task Force Battalion in Kanama community in the Yunusari LGA of Yobe State, had also killed scores of the Boko Haram terrorists and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province insurgents who attempted to infiltrate their location on Friday.
“The terrorists were decimated by troops supported by the Air Component of Operation Lafiya Dole. Furthermore, during the encounter, several terrorists were neutralised while one Gun Truck and various arms and ammunition were captured by the troops,” Mr Onyeuko added.