By Lazarus Zakaa, Abuja.
The Nigerian Military says the convoy of the Borno State Civilians Relocation Committee comprising Armed Forces of Nigeria, Nigeria Police Force and Civilian Joint Task Force was ambushed by members of the BHT/ISWAP at Barwati village on 25 of September 2020.
This was contained in statement signed by the coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche on Sunday in Abuja
The Coordinator said, the attack/ambush was however successfully repelled by the gallant troops.
He said, sadly a total of 18 lives including 4 soldiers, 10 Policemen and 4 civilians were lost during the sad incident.
He also revealed that the troops on hot pursuit of the insurgents successfully recovered 3 vehicles.
He disclosed that two of the vehicles belonging to the Nigeria Police that were earlier carted away by the terrorists during the attack. Similarly, one BHT gun truck was also captured.
The statement also revealed that the casualties recorded were as a result of the explosion from the multiple Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted on the road by the terrorists.
The Nigerian Army has since deployed bomb and IED disposal teams to ensure effective route scanning and clearance to forestall future occurrence.