Military airstrikes eliminate 37 terrorists in Borno

The Nigerian Army says the Joint troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have eliminated scores of Boko Haram/Islamic States West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists in recent encounters in Borno.

Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, Director, Army Public Relations, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Nwachukwu said the troops had on Saturday morning observed the movement of six Gun Trucks within Sambisa Forest general area, which were subsequently located at a settlement near Yuwe.

He said that the trucks later moved to a remote location, where they were joined by other terrorist elements, in what seemed like a convergence for a meeting.

According to him, more than 50 Boko Haram/ ISWAP fighters were observed to have gathered at the meeting.

“Having clearly identified the terrorists’ hideout, the Air Component of OPHK immediately dispatched two aircrafts to conduct air interdiction on the location.

“The strikes, which were carried out under cover of darkness, were successful and devastating, as battle damage assessment corroborated by local sources revealed that over 37 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists were neutralised, while several of them reportedly suffered varying degrees of injury,” he said.

Nwachukwu also disclosed that the combat air crew of the air component, located another set of four Gun Trucks about six Kilometers South West of Bama, as the aircraft retreated to base after the air interdiction.

He said the air crew immediately relayed the coordinates of the location of the gun trucks to troops of the Land Component.

He added that land forces promptly engaged the location with artillery fire bombardment and neutralised the insurgents’ gun trucks.

According to him, the successful joint operations conducted by both the air and land components, with the support of other security agencies under OPHK has yet again underscored the importance of synergy and cooperation in the fight against terrorism and insurgency.

“Troops of OPHK remain resolute and unshaken in their effort to bring the insurgents to their knees,” he added. (NAN)