Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), said the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Lafiya Dole engaged in the anti-terrorism war has destroyed more terrorist strongholds in Borno State.
NAF director of public relations and information, Ibikunle Daramola, who made this known in a statement at the weekend, said most of the camps were located at Bakassi on the fringes of Lake Chad.
Daramola said: “The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Lafiya Dole has destroyed additional terrorists’ structures and killed some Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters at Bakassi on the fringes of Lake Chad in Borno State in an air strike conducted yesterday, July 6. The attack was executed as a follow-up to air raids conducted at the same location on June 28, after intelligence reports indicated the ISWAP elements, having suffered heavy casualties during the attack, had relocated surviving fighters and logistics supplies to another part of the settlement, as confirmed by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
“The ATF, therefore, dispatched two Alpha jets to attack the location, with accurate hits on the identified structures, which were seen engulfed in flames. Several terrorists were also neutralised as a result of the strike. The attached short video clip, now declassified, shows parts of the attack.
“The NAF, operating in concert with surface forces, will sustain the effort to completely degrade the terrorists in the North-East.”