Nigeria lost an Army general in a recent encounter with ISWAP terrorists in the northeast of the country, the Spokesman of the Army said on Saturday in a statement.

 

Troops of Joint Task Force, North East Operation HADIN KAI neutralized several Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists during a recent encounter in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, Onyema Nwachukwu, a Brigadier-General and Director Army Public Relations, said.

 

In the fierce encounter, which was still raging as at the time of filling his report, troops supported by the Air Component of OPHK have destroyed five A – Jet, two A-29, two Dragon combat vehicles, and nine Gun Trucks, the Army spokesman said.

 

“Sadly, a gallant senior officer Brigadier-General Dzarma Zirkusu and three soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice in a very rare display of gallantry as they provided reinforcement in a counter-offensive against the terrorists, and successfully defended the location,” General Nwachukwu said.

 

“The family of the senior officer and soldiers have been contacted,” he added.

 

The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya deeply commiserates with the families and relations of the fallen heroes. He has also directed that the troops continue in the ferocious counteroffensive and hot pursuit to eliminate the remnant of the fleeing terrorists, Nwachukwu said.

 

Only on Friday, November 12, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), announced that the splintering of the Boko Haram terrorist group into the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) had created an additional challenge for the Nigerian military.

 

“Apart from Somalia in the Horn of Africa, the most prominent acts of terrorism are perpetrated in the West African environs, particularly Mali and Nigeria,” Monguno said in a speech at the Peace Summit in Paris, France,

 

“Specifically, it is necessary to state that the splintering of the Boko Haram Terrorist (BHT) group into the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) created an additional stress for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Countries (LCBC),” he added.

 

“The threats of terrorism and violent extremism have continued to place a significant security burden on the African continent, particularly in the Sahel,” the retired general said.