The operation, which targeted terrorist hideouts in the Southern Lake Chad region, also led to the recovery of heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft ammunition believed to have been stolen during an earlier attack on the Cameroonian Defence Forces.

Speaking with Channels Television in Maiduguri, the Theatre Commander of the North-East Joint Task Force, confirmed that troops launched the offensive at a border community called Manawaji.

He said: “Our troops are intensifying sustained operations to clear the Southern lakes in the border communities.

“During this recent operation, the troops made contact with terrorists at a Cameroon border community, Manawaji, between Rann and Gamboru Ngala, and immediately engaged the terrorists, leading to ten of them being neutralised while several weapons and ammunition, including anti-aircraft rounds, were recovered.”

According to Abubakar, the anti-aircraft weapons recovered were suspected to have been looted from Cameroonian soldiers during a previous cross-border ambush.

reports that Ngala, located 154 kilometres from Maiduguri, and Rann, the administrative centre of Kala Balge Local Government Area, which lies 183 kilometres away, are both known flashpoints in the ongoing insurgency.

The Theatre Commander commended the efforts of the soldiers, stressing that the recent deployment of fresh fighting equipment had greatly boosted troop morale.

“We will not rest until the last terrorist is neutralised,” Abubakar vowed, noting that the theatre of operations remains focused on stabilising the border regions.

The military continues to strengthen its presence along Lake Chad and surrounding border communities to prevent further infiltration by insurgents.