By: Zagazola Makama
The troops of Operation Hadin Kai have rescued four timber truck drivers kidnapped by suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The drivers were abducted on Saturday, May 27, near Ngwom village in Mafa local government. Mafa which is about 50 km east of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.
The drivers reportedly conveyed laborers, mostly wood fellers and loaders, to the bush when armed terrorists intercepted them.
The terrorists approached the drivers under the guise of needing their services to convey their members to a nearby village. However, the drivers and their passengers were soon taken hostage by the terrorists.
Intelligence source told Zagazola Makama, a Counter-Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region that after receiving the distress call, the troops 112 Task Force Battalion Mafa in conjunction with Civilian JTF and Hunters departed Mafa and advanced toward Gullo village in search of the kidnapped victims on June 1, 2023.
The sources said that on sighting the fighting troops, the terrorists abandoned the victims and fled as the troops gave them a hot chase.
The fighting troops successfully rescued the 4 kidnapped victims and also recovered the vehicles.