At Least 24 Terrorists Killed in Kukareta Attack, Army Says

At least 24 terrorists have been killed by members of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), Sector 2, following a militant assault on Thursday morning.

According to a statement released by the Task Force's Media Information Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, the operation was conducted in response to a "determined terrorist attack on Kukareta location."

The statement described the timeline and nature of the assault in detail. It noted that the attack "commenced shortly after midnight and lasted until about 0300 hours," and was met with what it described as a swift and coordinated military response. Troops executed what the statement called a "deliberate offensive-defensive action, effectively containing the assault and forcing the terrorists into a disorderly withdrawal."

On casualties, the statement said: "During the engagement, troops inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers, with 24 terrorists neutralised so far."

A significant haul of weapons was also recovered from the scene. "Ongoing exploitation of the battlefield has led to the recovery of a significant cache of arms and ammunition, including 18 AK-47 rifles, 3 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), 2 PKT automatic anti-aircraft guns, 3 RPG tubes, 2 mortar tubes, 4 hand grenades, 18 AK-47 magazines, and large quantities of belted 7.62mm ammunition for PKT systems," the statement read.

On the Nigerian Army's side, casualties were limited. "Troops recorded 2 personnel wounded in action, who have been stabilised, while one reinforcing armoured tank sustained damage with all tyres blown out during the engagement," the statement noted.

Recovery efforts are still underway. "Exploitation operations are ongoing to recover additional bodies and equipment along the terrorists' withdrawal routes littered with blood trails and medical consumables," it added.

The statement concluded on a confident note, saying the outcome "highlights the resilience, combat readiness and fire superiority of OPHK troops in denying terrorists freedom of action," and that "operations will continue with sustained offensive pressure to consolidate gains and decisively defeat all terrorist elements across the Joint Operations Area."