Troops of 34 Artillery Brigade on Friday 27 December 2024 neutralised elements of the proscribed terrorist group of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Osina, Ideator North Local Government Area of Imo State.
A statement issued Saturday said the troops while returning from routine patrols responded to a distress call of IPOB/ESN attack on Osina Community, saying that on arrival, the troops engaged the terrorists with overwhelming fire power as the dissidents withdrew in disarray.
It said: “Unfortunately, two security agents had been killed in action and one other missing in action and their weapons, an Ak 47 Rifle and a Tear Gas Launcher were carted away by the terrorists.
“The corpses of the slain agents were recovered and the troops proceeded in pursuit of the fleeing terrorists.”
It explained that contact was again made with the criminal IPOB/ESN elements at Nkwachi Community and in the firefight that ensued, one of the dissidents was neutralised while others who could not withstand the troop’s fire power ran into the nearby forest.
It added that one AK-47 rifle with a fully loaded magazine was recovered.
It noted: “The unrelenting troops continued to pursue the remnant of the criminals deep into Umalouma forest where a heavy firefight further broke out.
“The dissidents finally abandoned their weapons due to troops’ superior fire power and scampered into the thickly forested area with severe gunshot injuries.
“An additional five Ak – 47 rifles, one Fabrique Nationale Rifle, five magazines and a Tear Gas Launcher were recovered.”
It stressed that further exploitation is ongoing as troops would continue to trail the injured terrorists and smoke them out of their hideouts and places of treatment.