The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, yesterday said that the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) “have made serious efforts at dismantling the military capabilities as well as destroy the terror networks of the new terror group, the Lakurawa.”

General Buba made the disclosure yesterday at the regular briefing on troops’ ongoing kinetic actions, held in Abuja.

Addressing concerns about the emergence of Lakurawa, the spokesperson promised the readiness of troops to contain the new terrorist organisation operating in parts of Sokoto and Kebbi states.

He said: “Troops are also actively targeting terrorist logistics bases and other structures that have affiliation to terror groups.

“The aim of the armed forces in the ongoing counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency war remains to find and destroy the terrorists and their cohorts whenever they may be hiding in our country.

“In achieving this aim, we recognise the need to continue to act and respond forcefully against terrorist. “Accordingly, we are collecting intelligence, hunting them and striking locations in which they are confirmed to be hibernating.

“For instance troops killed a notorious terrorist commander named Munzur Ya Audu in the North East through well executed operations.”

On Lakurawa, Buba declared: “They are a threat to our national security. We recognise them as such, and we are taking them out. “They have come at a time when our operations in the North West part of this country have been rejigged.”