Two officers (a lieutenant and a captain) and six soldiers were killed in the attack while at least four others were injured in the attack on the Presidential Guards Brigade.
About three days after terrorists fatally ambushed soldiers of an elite unit of the Nigerian Army in Abuja, the military reinforced and returned to the area of the attack to conduct a 'clearance patrol'.
At the end of the exercise which was conducted over three days, at least 30 terrorists were killed, the defence headquarters said on Thursday.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the Friday night attack on the 7 Guards Battalion of the Nigerian Army Presidential Guards Brigade. At least eight soldiers including two officers were killed in the July 22 attack in Bwari Area Council of the Nigerian capital.
However, on July 24, the military commenced its 'clearance operation' in the local government using ground forces and attack aircraft.
"Troops of 7 Guards Battalion and 167 Special Force Battalion in conjunction with the air component of Operation WHIRL PUNCH conducted a clearance patrol around Bwari general area between 24 - 26 July 2022," Benard Onyeuko, a major general and spokesperson of the defence headquarters, said in a press briefing on Thursday.
"Troops successfully clear Kawu and Ido villages. Consequently, about 30 terrorists were neutralized and their enclave and hide out destroyed."
Mr Onyeuko, according to the text of the press briefing, which was shared on the Facebook page of the defence headquarters, said the military also recovered weapons from the terrorists.
"Ground troops also recovered 6 x motorcycles, 2 x AK47 rifles, 1 x fully loaded LMG magazine amongst others during mob up," he said.
The Attack
PREMIUM TIMES reported how troops of the guards' brigade, responsible for the security of the Nigerian president, were ambushed.
Two officers (a lieutenant and a captain) and six soldiers were killed in the attack while at least four others, including the commanding officer who is said to be a lieutenant colonel, were injured and taken to the hospital.
While the military and the Nigerian government kept mum on the attack, the Kogi State Government on Tuesday announced that the two officers killed were from the state.
On Thursday, the federal government finally confirmed the attack with the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, saying the soldiers "were ambushed and decimated" by the terrorists.
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Troubled FCT
Until recently, the FCT had enjoyed relative peace, compared to some states surrounding it such as Niger and Kaduna where bandits operate almost on a daily basis.
The attack on the guards' brigade occurred in the same month that terrorists invaded the Kuje prison in Abuja and freed hundreds of inmates, including Boko Haram suspects.
Some weeks before then, terrorists also attacked a presidential convoy in Katsina, injuring one person.
It is not clear if all the attacks were carried out by the same group or different ones.
Different terror groups operate in different parts of Nigeria despite the efforts of the military which has deployed soldiers to over 30 of Nigeria's 36 states.
ISWAP, a faction of the Boko Haram terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack on the Kuje prison and released a video of the incident.
No group has, however, claimed responsibility for the attack on the presidential convoy and that of the guards' brigade.
