Molly Kilete
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), said its fighter jets engaged in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North East have killed scores of terrorists belonging to the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Borno State.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, who made this known said the terrorists met their end after they assembled for a meeting under a group of trees near a prominent makeshift structure at Tumbun ‘Alpha’, a small settlement about 4km west of Tumbun Allura, on the fringes of Lake Chad.
Daramola in a statement issued in Abuja, said: “The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has neutralised some Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists at Tumbun ‘Alpha’, a small settlement about 4kms west of Tumbun Allura, on the fringes of Lake Chad in the northern part of Borno State.
“The air strikes were conducted on 5 April 2019, on the heels of credible intelligence reports indicating that some ISWAP leaders and members had assembled for a meeting under a group of trees near a prominent makeshift structure within the settlement.
“A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) platform dispatched for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) confirmed the presence of several ISWAP fighters within the vicinity of the target. Accordingly, the ATF scrambled a NAF Alpha Jet to attack the location. The bombs from the aircraft recorded hits on the target area resulting in significant damage to surrounding structures with a large fire observed and several of the terrorists neutralised. The attached video clip, which is now declassified, shows some parts of the attack.
“The NAF, operating in concert with surface forces, will sustain its operations against the terrorists in the North East.”