The Nigerian military has neutralised scores of alleged members of the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) terrorist group after they blocked the Maiduguri-Damaturu road on Thursday, causing misery for travelers.

The Nigerian Airforce provided substantial air support to neutralize the terrorists who had taken up a siege on Lawan Mainari hamlet, roughly 30 kilometers from Mainoc.

Three guntrucks were recovered from a position about twenty kilometers away from the area of the incident after they attempted to flee when backup forces advanced, a source with the Rapid Response Squad patrolling the 130-kilometer road said.

The abducted commuters were later released by the terrorists following a fierce chase by the joint team of the Air Force and the troops on the ground, sources at the site told newsmen Naijacrawl. They were kidnapped since they couldn't flee, like several national youth service corps members arriving from Damaturu who fled into the Savannah when they saw the crooks, only to reappearance once military reinforcement arrived on the route. "

The militants burned two trailers and one truck, reliable military sources informed Naijacrawl, "but the military also destroyed three vehicles belonging to the terrorists slain."