Military Deploys Drones, Air Assets in Strikes That Kill 103 Terrorists
The military has neutralised 103 terrorists in seven precision air strikes targeting Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) positions across Borno and Adamawa states within an eight-day period.
The operations, conducted between October 10 and 18, involved Nigerian Army Aviation, the Nigerian Army Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (NARPAS) Regiment and Air Component assets under Operation Hadin Kai.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Acting Military Information Officer at Headquarters Joint Task Force (North East), Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Mohammed Goni, said the strikes targeted terrorist positions, leadership structures and logistics facilities across the operational theatre.
The targets included locations around Gudumbali in Guzamala Local Government Area (LGA), Badu in Monguno LGA, Mairari in Guzamala LGA and Duste Uku in Gombi LGA of Adamawa State.
A major operation was conducted on October 18 against an alternate residence of Abu Saleem, identified by the military as the ISWAP Wali of South Lake Chad, in the Arina Woje area of Monguno LGA, Borno State.
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According to the statement, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities preceded the strike, while subsequent human intelligence confirmed the deaths of Jindullah, reportedly Abu Saleem’s chief security guard, and Abul Kissa, a member of ISWAP’s Shura Council, alongside other fighters.
The strike destroyed the targeted structure and logistics assets stored at the location, including nine boat engines and several motorcycles. The military said the operation disrupted the group’s use of the area as a hideout and logistics base.
In another operation on October 13, a Guardian air asset tracked 16 terrorists from the Mairari axis to a gathering of more than 100 fighters accompanied by several motorcycles, about 23 kilometres east of Badu and 19 kilometres west of Monguno.
A subsequent precision strike on the gathering resulted in the assessed neutralisation of approximately 30 terrorists. However, the extent of damage to the motorcycles could not be confirmed.
The other strikes targeted terrorist elements and facilities around Gudumbali, Badu, Mairari and Duste Uku, contributing to the reported total of 103 terrorists neutralised during the eight-day campaign.
The military said the operations had disrupted ISWAP’s command structures, logistics networks and ability to sustain its activities across the North-East.
It added that continued coordination among Army Aviation, the NARPAS Regimen, Air Component assets and ground forces would sustain pressure on terrorist groups and deny them safe havens in the region.
By PRNigeria
