The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, said on Friday that troops eliminated 159 terrorists and apprehended about 174 others in the past week.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba, disclosed this in Abuja while giving an update on armed forces’ operations across the country.
Buba said troops also rescued 188 kidnapped hostages, apprehended 45 perpetrators of oil theft, and recovered 151 assorted weapons and 12,401 assorted ammunition within the period.
He said that the armed forces had taken resolute steps towards ending terrorism and insecurity in the country through ongoing operations.
According to him, the operations are yielding the desired results as troops dismantle terrorist networks and decimate their leadership and combatants, with several of the terrorist leaders and commanders eliminated from the battlefield.
“Furthermore, troops are strategically deployed to ensure that the off-cycle governorship election scheduled for September 21 in Edo is violence-free, fair, and credible.
“Troops’ role is to support the police to ensure voters’ safety and security, and to thwart the activities of those elements bent on fomenting crises during the elections.
“Our operations against terrorists and violent extremists remain aimed at providing security and stability for the nation and its citizens.
“Troops will therefore continue to be relentless in pursuit of ending all forms of insecurity across the country,” he said.