Boko Haram
In a renewed wave of attacks by Islamist terrorists group, Boko Haram, four soldiers and one officer were killed Friday night in a raid on 119 Battalion Nigerian Army location at Mallam Fatori, northern Borno State.
Four other soldiers sustained injuries in the ambush which occurred at about 10:00pm Friday night in the northern part of the state.
This was disclosed in a statement Saturday morning by acting spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Col Sani Usman, who said that the troops fought gallantly and repelled the attack, killing 14 of the insurgents.
“Unfortunately, we lost an officer and 4 soldiers, while 4 other soldiers sustained various degrees of injuries during the encounter. One of those killed in action, was Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, the Commanding Officer of 272 Task Force Tank Battalion,” the statement read.
“It would be recalled that because of the late senior officer’s exceptional bravery and gallantry, he was given an accelerated promotion from the rank of Major to Lieutenant Colonel and was decorated by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General TY Buratai at Gamboru Ngala on 9th September, 2015 during an operational visit.
“So far, the troops have recovered 1 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), 7 AK-47 rifles and a large quantity of ammunition. Mopping up and exploitation are ongoing,” Usman added.
