The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has killed several terrorists in airstrikes on their fortified hideouts in Borno and Katsina States.
The Deputy Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Group Capt. Kabiru Ali, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
He said a series of interdiction missions conducted between March 17 and March 19, also crippled the operational networks of the terrorists across the North-East and North-West.
He added that the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai on March 17 launched a devastating airstrike on Chiralia, a notorious terrorist enclave within the Timbuktu Triangle.
According to him, intelligence reports revealed that the insurgents had been orchestrating violent raids along the Maiduguri-Damaturu and Damaturu-Biu highways, abducting civilians and plundering supplies.
The spokesman said: “In response, a formidable force package of NAF attack aircraft unleashed a precise and overwhelming assault, obliterating multiple enemy structures and eliminating terrorists desperately attempting to escape with follow-up strikes.
“The following day, the NAF launched a devastating air interdiction operation at Grazah, a well-fortified terrorist hideout in the treacherous Mandara Mountains, and at Yuwe, a notorious insurgent stronghold in Sambisa Forest.
“At Grazah, intelligence reports exposed extremist leaders indoctrinating fighters, reinforcing the urgency of the strike.
“In a ferocious assault, NAF fighter jets unleashed a relentless barrage of precision strikes on key targets advancing purposeful lethality.
“Follow-up strikes intensified the offensive, obliterating fleeing terrorists at both locations and delivering a crushing blow to their operational networks.
“In the North-West, the NAF executed a relentless aerial assault in Zango Hill, Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina in close coordination with ground forces.
“The ISR missions uncovered armed bandits entrenched in the rugged high ground, triggering the swift deployment of NAF attack aircraft.”