By ZAGAZOLA MAKAMA

The ongoing military onslaught under Operation Hadin Kai has recorded another feats, with the successful neutralisation of five Boko Hara fighters in the notorious Ladin Buttu axis of Sambisa Forest.

The recent encounter, which resulted in the recovery of arms and critical supplies, reinforced the renewed momentum of the Nigerian military’s intensified offensive operations deep into insurgent-held enclaves within the forest.

Ladin Buttu, a known terrorist transit and logistics hub, particularly for water access, had long served as a strategic hideout for insurgents operating within the fringes of the forest. But under the latest push by troops of Operation Hadin Kai, it has become the latest flashpoint in a string of aggressive operations designed to dismantle remnants of terrorist infrastructure.

Military sources told Zagazola Makama that the troops made contact with the terrorists during a clearance patrol and engaged them in a fierce firefight. Five terrorists were neutralised, while others fled with varying degrees of gunshot wounds. Recovered from the scene were three AK-47 rifles, five loaded magazines, and other military ordnance.

The operation, forms part of a broader recalibrated campaign by the Theatre consequent upon the visit of the COAS who has ordered intensified ground raids and aerial surveillance across Sambisa, Timbuktu Triangle, and parts of the Lake Chad fringes in a bid to cripple the operational capacities of the Boko Haram and ISWAP factions. (Zagazola)