410 surrender to troops in Nasarawa, military says

Troops discovered a bomb-making factory belonging to the group after members surrendered.

The military says 410 members of Darul Salam, identified as a terrorist group, surrendered to troops of Operation Whirl Stroke in Nasarawa this week. Defense Headquarters spokesperson, Major-General John Enenche, said in a statement on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 that terrorists, including women and children, surrendered on Tuesday, August 25.

They surrendered to troops and other security agencies deployed at Uttu in Toto local government area of Nasarawa during a raid to rid the area of bandits.

Eneche said troops further discovered a bomb-making factory belonging to the group on Wednesday during a clearance operation around the Uttu area.

"In the course of the operation, troops recovered several Improvised Explosive Device making materials at the location including two scales, six rocket launcher bombs, one bag of fertilizer, half a bag of gun powder, 10 locally made hand grenades, one Rocket Propelled Grenade bomb fuse, one locally made Rocket Launcher, two Improvised Explosive Devices, 13 Improvised rocket bombs, amongst others," he said.

Items recovered from the sect [DHQ] The Islamic sect's camp was subsequently destroyed by troops who also combed the surrounding forests for fleeing members.

The north central region is one of those adversely affected by the the activities of bandits, one of Nigeria's biggest insecurity problems.

Amnesty International released a report earlier this week that showed at least 1,126 people in rural villages in the northern region have been killed since January 2020.

The human rights watchdog group said it documented an alarming escalation in attacks and abductions in many states in the north west and north central since January.