10 Camps Fall, Scores Die as Terrorists Engage Nigerian Army

May 17, 2015 – Not less than 10 camps belonging to members of the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram fell on Saturday leaving  scores dead in a very fierce battle as Nigerian special forces engage the sect in  their hideout in Sambisa Forest.

In a statement, Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade said unconfirmed number of the terrorists died in the encounter.

“An unconfirmed number of terrorists died on Saturday as 10 additional camps used by terrorists were overran in the continuing offensive operations against the terrorists in Sambisa forest. The Dure camp which is one of the most prominent camps in the forest witnessed the fiercest battle as the Special Forces descended heavily on it before it finally fell”, he said adding that four of the camps were located in a place called Iza within the forest and three others noted to have been recently established by the terrorists before the assault began.

“One soldier died from one of the land mine encountered in the operation while two others were also wounded. The terrorists lost a number of vehicles mounted with Anti-Aircraft Guns as well as armoured vehicles. Some of the terrorists who escaped from the camps also died as they ran into troops ambush in some escape routes from the forest”, he said.

He said that  some of the fleeing terrorists have also engaged in suicide missions at Bitta where they encountered the Nigerian troops and Kiskeru across the border in Niger Republic.

“The Operation to clear the terrorists in Sambisa and other forests is continuing as troops in all fronts have been alerted to be on the look out for fleeing terrorists. The Nigerian Air force is maintaining an active air surveillance to track the movement of terrorists for appropriate action as the operation continues”, he said.