Defence Headquarters on Monday confirmed the presence of “suspected” Islamic States for West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists and bandits in the Northwest region of Nigeria, saying they attacked the Forward Operation Base (FOB) at Burkusuma in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The ISWAP attack was “successfully repelled by troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in conjunction with other security agencies,” killing “scores” of the terrorists.
However, the military suffered “some level of casualty.”
Director of Defence Information, Major General Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr, said in a statement that the “the failed attack, which took place at about 5:30am, 26 September 2021, in the remote border settlement with Niger Republic was swiftly repelled by troops.
“The aggressive operations of troops of the FOB as witnessed in recent months in the North West region, has been a thorn in the flesh of ISWAP and bandits. The attackers came in large numbers using telecom network provided from neighbouring country, capitalised on the lean rear area protection force when the main troops were out conducting offensive operations within their area of responsibility.
“However, the swift reinforcement by own troops helped to counter the attack as many of the ISWAP fighters were eliminated while some scrambled with various degrees of injuries, resulting to their pursuit to Bassira in Niger Republic.
“Unfortunately, there were some level of casualty recorded on the part of own troops during the encounter.
“Meanwhile, Nigerian and Nigerien forces in a collaborative operation are currently trailing the remaining ISWAP fighters. The general security within the FOB and its environs has been stabilized.”