Troops of Sector Two, Joint Task Force North West, have rescued 23 kidnapped victims and arrested four suspected members of the Lakurawa terrorist group in separate operations across Wurno, Sabon Birni and Illela Local Government Areas of Sokoto State.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Danja said the troops responded to a terrorist attack on Sabon Gari in Wurno Local Government Area, where terrorists invaded the community and fired sporadically, forcing residents to flee.
He said the troops engaged the terrorists and forced them to withdraw, rescuing six kidnapped victims in the process.
In a separate operation along the Sabon Birni–Takatsaba Road in Sabon Birni Local Government Area, Danja said the troops, acting on intelligence, engaged the terrorists and forced them to flee.
He added that the troops maintained dominance of the area to deny the terrorists freedom of action.
In another operation, troops responding to reported terrorist activities along the Isa–Kwanar Isa–Shinkafi Road in Isa Local Government Area engaged the terrorists and forced them to withdraw.
According to Danja, a subsequent search of the area led to the rescue of 17 kidnapped civilians.
He said one of the rescued victims, who sustained a fracture, was evacuated to the General Hospital, Isa, for medical attention.
In another intelligence-driven operation, the troops arrested four suspected members of the Lakurawa terrorist group in Illela Local Government Area.
Danja said the troops also recovered six cows suspected to have been rustled during the operation.
He said the suspects and recovered livestock were in military custody for further investigation, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the group.
The Theatre Command said the operations were part of sustained efforts to disrupt terrorist activities, rescue kidnapped civilians and deny terrorists freedom of movement across the Joint Operations Area.
