The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said security forces foiled attempts by terrorists to attack Ajiri and Mafa in Borno on Wednesday leading to the killing of 20 insurgents.
This information is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by Maj-.Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information.
The statement said the terrorists were trying to attack the villages and other communities in the outskirts of Maiduguri and Dikwa close to the Cameroon borders.
“The ambush mounted by the terrorists to enable them to unleash terror on the communities unchallenged, was also cleared by troops on reinforcement mission.”
“Twenty insurgents died in the encounter, while own troops sustained varying degree of injuries.”
“Arms captured from the terrorists include various brands of machine guns and improvised explosive devices”, it said.
The statement also said that more camps were destroyed in the encounters at various forests and mountain locations around Adamawa and Borno States.
The DHQ noted with grave concern the inflammatory pronouncements by some highly placed persons in government and some apparently sponsored commentators in and outside the country.
It said these people had consistently given false and misleading remarks to describe the disposition of troops in the ongoing operations.
It added that it had become clear that this sustained campaign is intended to demoralize the troops and give impression that the military was overwhelmed by the terrorists.
The statement added that the tendency was unfortunate to say the least.
For the avoidance of any doubt, the statement restated that the military cannot by any standard be overwhelmed by the insurgents.
“Neither will the devious antics of their sympathizers and sponsors demoralize the fighting spirit of troops”, the statement said.
The statement enjoined Nigerians to discountenance the propaganda by the terrorists and their backers alleging the inability of Nigerian troops to handle the insurgency.