Nigerian military recaptures Marte, kills several terrorists

Nigerian troops on Tuesday successfully recaptured Marte from Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province (iswap) insurgents.

Marte is a local government area in Borno State, Nigeria, and located on the western coast of Lake Chad.

ISWAP fighters armed with machine guns had on January 16 overran a military base in the area.

The operation lasted hours on Tuesday; scores of insurgents were killed.

A military officer told PRNigeria that the troops safely detonated a number of improvised explosive devices buried along the routes.

“New Marte effectively in our hands since 3pm. Our will and determination are unshaken. We are ever determined not to let our service chiefs and the nation down,” he said.

There was a massive deployment of military assets in the offensive that extended to areas around Marte.

They include Kirta, Wulgo, Chikingudo, and Kirenowa and the location of the South Chad Irrigation Project (SCIP).

On Sunday, the Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, gave troops 48 hours to reclaim Marte.

The COAS issued the order when he visited troops of Army Super Camp 9 in Dikwa LGA of Borno.

Last week, terrorists attacked a military base in Dikwa and captured Marte.

They invaded the community on motorcycles and light trucks mounted with Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs).