By: Abdullahi InuwaÂ
Troops of Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, have scored a major operational breakthrough in Zamfara State after intercepting a suspected explosives courier and recovering 180 units of 20mm Super Power explosives allegedly destined for terrorist elements.
The interception, which took place on August 14 during routine snap checks by troops of Sector 2, dealt a significant blow to the logistics network believed to be sustaining terrorist activities across parts of the North-West.
The suspect, identified as 57-year-old Sani Umar, was stopped while travelling from Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State towards Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
A search of his vehicle reportedly uncovered the explosives, which security sources said were being transported for delivery to suspected terrorists operating in the area.
Umar, alongside his vehicle and the recovered explosives, has been taken into custody as security agencies intensify investigations into the wider network behind the consignment.
The interception came as troops were simultaneously mounting offensive operations against terrorist elements in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara.
During clearance operations around Garin Kaso, troops engaged terrorists and neutralised two of them, while recovering two rifles, two magazines, nine rounds of ammunition and two motorcycles.
The troops subsequently came under an attempted ambush by another group of terrorists but fought through the attack, inflicting additional casualties and forcing the surviving fighters to flee the area.
Sources said some of the fleeing terrorists were believed to have evacuated wounded fighters and the bodies of their dead colleagues from the battlefield.
The twin successes — the seizure of a large explosives consignment and the battlefield pressure on terrorist fighters — underline the increasingly aggressive approach of Operation FANSAN YAMMA towards both the combat and logistical wings of terrorist networks.
Rather than waiting for attacks to occur, troops are targeting the supply chains, weapons routes and personnel believed to provide terrorists with the resources required to sustain their operations.
The latest operation is therefore being seen as another significant disruption to the movement of explosives and other military-grade materials across the Zamfara-Katsina axis.
The Theatre Command has reaffirmed its determination to maintain the momentum of ongoing operations and deny terrorists and other criminal elements the freedom to operate across the North-West.
With the recovery of the explosives coming alongside fresh battlefield casualties among terrorist fighters, security forces appear to be tightening the pressure on both the fighters and the logistics networks feeding the insurgency.
Source:@ZagazolaMakama
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