The Defense Headquarters has said that a total of 41 terrorists were killed by military troops in various operations across the North East and North West in one week.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche disclosed this at a news conference on military operations across Nigeria.

Enenche said that about 40 kidnapped victims were rescued by the troops in both North East and North West, adding that two soldiers were killed in the attacks.

He explained that in various attacks, a lot of arms and dangerous weapons were recovered by the troops.

According to him, between June 11 and 18, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole carried out several clearance operations, including a counter-attack on Boko Haram terrorists who attempted to infiltrate Monguno town on June 12.

“The counter-attack by our troops at Monguno resulted in the neutralisation of 41 terrorists and the recovery of a large cache of arms, ammunition and equipment, as well as the rescue of 33 captives, amongst others.

“The land and air components of Operations Hadarin Daji, Katsina and Accord, carried out a massive Clearance Operations at several identified bandits’ enclaves in a forest along the Katsina-Zamfara boundary area.

“Scores of bandits were killed during that operation, with several others injured.

“Also, the troops also arrested three suspected bandits, including one Ibrahim Isa clad in military camouflage while six kidnapped victims were rescued, amongst other recoveries.

“The military troops also arrested one Alhaji Audu said to be responsible for several attacks in Benue State and the arrest of the suspect have brought maximum peace to the surrounding communities.

“Since the beginning of Operation Accord, several high profile terrorists’ and bandits’ leaders have surrendered while many others have been neutralized and their equipment captured by our gallant troops.

“In the period under review, the AFN has neutralized 52 criminals across all theatres with the destruction and recovery of weapons,” he said.

He further explained that the army troops also discovered and equally destroyed 5 illegal refineries, 14 surface metal storage tanks, 9 coolers, and 9 cooking ovens in the Niger Delta.

He said that the troops also seized 2,640.5 barrels of stolen crude oil, 80,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil and 43,000 litres of PMS.

The coordinator commended the public for their cooperation in providing credible information which had facilitated the successes of the operations.