Troops of the 21 Armoured Brigade, Operation Hadin Kai have recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from the Islamic State of the West African Province, ISWAP, insurgents in Sambisa forest, Borno State.
It was gathered that the troops discovered the massive armoury with arms and ammunition when they invaded Ukuba camp in the fringes of Bama Local Government Area, as part of ongoing counter terrorists Operation Desert Sanity II on May 13, 2023.
According to a source, the recovery came after the troops raided the same camp and recovered six anti-aircraft guns, four AK-47 rifles, several IEDs-making materials, a cache of magazines, and a Hilux vehicle mounted with an anti-aircraft gun.
A counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, said a large number of weapons was discovered in hidden dug pits concealed by the terrorist group.
The sources said several variants of rocket-propelled grenade tubes, SMG rifles, double barrel guns, 50 hand grenades, and five SMK bombs, among others were recovered.
Others included 183 Shilka rounds, several IEDs-making materials, non-electric detonators, many already prepared IEDs as well as several canister bombs.
It was gathered that as the troops were withdrawing from the area, one terrorist was seen and naturalised while one AK-47 rifle and other items were recovered from him.
The troops successfully evacuated the arms from the scene after clearing the general area, noting that the troops’ morale and fighting spirit have been further boosted by the outcome of the operations so far.
The troops’ Operation Desert-Lake-Mountain II, which commenced April 27, 2023, in the axis of the Sambisa-Timbuktu Triangle and the shores of Lake Chad is making steady inroads as ground and backed air support continues to sustain pressures on the terrorists, killing scores of them while many others were forced to flee.
Some of the terrorist hideouts that had been cleared included Garno, Alafa, Alafa D, Garin Doctor, Njumia, Izzah, Farisu, Somalia, Ukuba, Garin Glucose, Garin Ba’aba, and Bula Abu Amir.
