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From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has announced that its air component of Operation Hadarin Daji in Northwest Nigeria conducted airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in Katsina and Borno states, resulting in the elimination of 30 terrorists.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, made this known in a statement. He said the airstrikes, carried out on May 27, 2024, targeted bandit hideouts in the Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State and Tumbun Fulani, near Lake Chad.
The statement reads: “It has now been confirmed that air strikes undertaken by the air component of Operation Hadarin Daji in Northwest Nigeria have eliminated several terrorists loyal to notorious terrorist kingpin known as Babura.
The airstrikes, carried out on 27 May 2024, were conducted around Bakai, Bakarya, and Yartsintsiya bandits’ hideouts in the Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State. Credible intelligence received after the strike revealed that about thirty (30) terrorists were confirmed to have been neutralized. It was also confirmed that Babura narrowly escaped being eliminated, while most of his foot soldiers were not so lucky.
Similar air strikes were also carried out by the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai on the same day at Tumbun Fulani, near Lake Chad, against terrorists at a once abandoned hideout. The strikes were authorized after Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions observed a pattern that was consistent with the relocation of terrorists to new hideouts and the movement of their logistics.
Recall that this same location was struck by NAF aircraft on 26 and 28 September 2023 with several terrorists eliminated and their logistics and mobilities destroyed.
That these remnant of terrorists have returned to their once-destroyed enclave, is indicative of the successes being recorded by both air and ground troops in flushing them out of their various hideouts.”
