The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has launched coordinated air strikes across Borno, Katsina, and Kwara States, killing scores of terrorists and destroying multiple hideouts in a series of intelligence-driven operations.
According to NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the air assets conducted precision strikes southeast of Shuwaram before shifting to Mallam Fatori, where Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) elements were mobilising with motorcycles and boats along the Lake Chad Basin. “The strikes destroyed insurgent hideouts, logistics hubs, and weapons storage facilities, eliminating several terrorists and crippling their mobility capabilities,” he said.
Post-strike assessments confirmed heavy losses for ISWAP, including the destruction of key infrastructure around the Lake Chad region. Similar operations were executed in Garin Dandi and Chigogo in Kwara State, where fighter jets struck bandit camps with “devastating accuracy,” based on credible intelligence.
In Katsina State, air assets under Operation FANSAN YAMMA targeted Zango Hill in Kankara Local Government Area, neutralising a terrorist kingpin and his fighters. Ejodame described the attacks as “among the most decisive against bandits in the Northwest in recent times.”
The Air Force said its Armed Reconnaissance missions across Zamfara, Kebbi, and Kaduna States identified movement near Wam Hill, where terrorists on motorcycles were attempting to flee. “The aircrew swiftly engaged and neutralised the targets, with no further hostile activity observed,” the statement added.
NAF attributed the success of the coordinated operations to the directives of the newly inaugurated Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, who vowed to project “smarter and intelligence-driven airpower” against insurgents nationwide.
In related developments, fierce clashes between Boko Haram and ISWAP erupted near Lake Chad, leaving at least 200 ISWAP fighters dead. Sources from local militia groups and intelligence officers confirmed the toll, describing it as one of the deadliest confrontations between the rival groups in recent years.
